The municipality of Goodhue, Minnesota has recently seen a cessation of its law enforcement personnel. And it’s the entirety of the police force, not just an individual officer or specific unit. And it’s all because of the Democrat governor, at least according to one state legislator.
The resignation of Goodhue Police Chief Josh Smith was tendered to municipal authorities, subsequently prompting the resignation of his subordinates, 10 in all.
According to a former officer, as reported by a local news outlet, the municipal authorities have disregarded the chief’s appeals for increased remuneration and enhanced recruiting endeavors aimed at addressing the staffing shortages within the department.
Smith’s resignation after a city council meeting on August 9th, as reported by KAAL-TV ABC6. Mayor Ellen Buck has purportedly affirmed her intention to convene an emergency assembly inside the city to address the issue at hand. According to the publication, on the 11th, the remaining police officers collectively submitted their resignations as a demonstration of unity.
According to a former officer who was interviewed by ABC 6 News, it has been reported that two policemen working full-time, in addition to Smith, would remain on duty until at least August 24th, which is the day when Smith’s resignation will take effect.
According to a report by NBC News, Smith expressed his concern during a meeting on July 26th, stating that there were no applicants for the city’s police department.
Additionally, he disclosed that neighboring jurisdictions were aggressively seeking to hire him and his officers.
According to Smith’s statement to the city, “Right now with our current, trying to hire at $22 an hour, you’re never going to see another person again walk through those doors, that’s it,” Smith told the city. “Unless you guys do a dramatic change.” He emphasized that smaller departments than his were providing a compensation rate of $30 per hour.
He also stated that “There’s zero incentive to come out here to a small town, low pay, being on call, affecting your free time and everything else.”
The Star Tribune reported “Smith warned the council during a public meeting last month he was fielding job offers while trying to recruit officers to Goodhue.”
“Not that I’m leaving you guys, because I told you I’m in it,” Smith said at the July 26 meeting, two weeks before he resigned. “But the harsh reality is, I don’t want to be the guy working 80 hours a week just running this PD, being on call 24 hours a day, which I already am, and leaving no time for my family.”
“Everybody knows everybody. This is heartbreaking to us,” Mayor Buck said, emphasizing, “We are going to rise above this, and I’m confident that we will have a police department again.” The mayor informed the press that she is engaging in discussions with the county sheriff in order to guarantee the provision of police services within the city.
According to CBS News, Buck attempted to assuage fears by telling citizens, “I want to reiterate that we will have police coverage in the city of Goodhue. That is not an issue.”
Based on a report by KSTP News, the municipality of Goodhue, which is situated in the southeastern region of Minneapolis, is home to a population of roughly 1,500 individuals. The local police department in this area is comprised of approximately 10 officers, including the chief. A significant proportion of the officers held part-time positions.
“The mayor and one other council member plan to meet with Goodhue County Sheriff Marty Kelly this Wednesday to discuss those plans. The next council meeting is set for Aug. 23, when the city can expect to learn more about future plans,” the outlet reported.
While very few community members showed up to the special council meeting, Goodhue business owner Lydia Strusz did attend and shared her disappointment with these developments with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS.
“It’s just unnerving to know that they may not be there,” Strusz said about the unknown of placing an emergency call.
“I just prefer [Goodhue] having their own police department,” Stusz added.
Local CBS station KAAL TV reported, “The city generally records and posts videos of City Council meetings to the city’s YouTube channel. However, there is no video of the Aug. 9 meeting online.”
According to a statement made by Republican Minnesota State Representative Pam Altendorf on Tuesday afternoon, as reported by CBS, she expressed her belief that the Goodhue issue is “being blown completely out of proportion.”.
The state legislator attributed the prevailing police shortage in Minnesota to Governor Tim Walz (D-MN), highlighting “the failed policies of the Walz administration and the degrading of our police officers.” Additionally, the legislator noted that small towns face challenges in recruiting officers due to budgetary constraints and a lack of state support.
“This is what happens when government creates an environment where criminals do not receive just sentences and law enforcement is demeaned and demoralized,” Altendorf stated.
Even major cities like the capital of California are seeing major problems with police staffing. Sacramento saw major anti-cop rioting and looting in 2020 much like Portland.
In June of this year, CBS 13 reported, “The plan to beef up patrols for Sacramento police means moving 25 officers from hospitals and regional transit to the streets in an effort to improve response times and quality of life.”
People of Sacramento answered our question: would they feel safer if 25 officers moved from region transit, Kaiser, and Sutter hospital contracts to patrol.
Sacramento resident Rodney Thomas said, “If there was a higher crime rate, then yeah, I think it’s needed.”
This is the solution laid out by Sacramento’s Chief of Police Kathy Lester. In her words, the department is “woefully understaffed”.
In a city council meeting, Lester said, “We go out, typically, below minimum staffing every day, on every shift, unless we call in officers on overtime.”
That impacts every person in the city through response times.
A business owner in Del Paso Boulevard, John Blair, said, “Which one do you call? Well, I’m going to call my guys that are going to show up in 15 minutes. Not police who take forever.”
The average response time for 911 citywide averages 10 and a half minutes.
For non-emergencies, that increases to 22 minutes, and about 43 minutes for reports.
The local outlet stated that the Sacramento Police Department is down by a whopping 100 officers.
This what Democrats, the far left, antifa, and BLM gave us with their violent, anarchistic “defund the police” movement. Pieces of sh-t.
