NEW HAVEN, Mo. — After a heated board meeting Monday, 5 On Your Side learned more about what led the City of New Haven to dissolve its police department.
The mayor of New Haven, Jason Addison, went in depth about the situation, saying, “We had days of no coverage.”
Addison said the New Haven Police Department has had staffing issues for months.
“We should have seven to complete the 12 hour shifts on a seven day schedule. Our three reserve officers, it's really hard to get them to work. One of the gentlemen is a full time medic, so that requires a lot of time. They're shorthanded too,” Addison said.
Addison said they've had a really tough time hiring officers, let alone a chief for their department, because they don't have enough money to be competitive with pay; they roughly only offer $21 an hour.
“Our police department takes almost three-quarters of our budget. Just the police department out of the general fund,” Addison said.
They were finally able to hire a new police chief, John Hallquist, in January, but he resigned 23 days after being sworn in, citing issues he learned about after taking the job and possible mishandling of evidence.
A six-month emergency contract for $59,609 a month was signed with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office.
“A deputy has been pulled in, in addition to the county man hours, and assigned to the city limits," said Franklin County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy TJ Wild. "Since then, I have been here since seven in the morning till ten. Patrol deputy signs on a ten takes it takes until ten, and then a patrol deputy in the zone is close.”
Wild is currently investigating the former chief's claims and auditing evidence some evidence issues have been cleared up and found to be handled properly.
Until the sherriff's office gives Addison the green light, they're going to hold off on making any decisions about the future of the police department.
“We may have to see about co-oping with somebody, but there's a lot of departments where you cannot double deputize. You know, that you cannot have one officer work for this department and then still work for this department,” Addison said.
Addison said a permanent contract with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office is likely too expensive but is working for now, and he wants to reassure residents they are safe.
“I think Major Wild touched on that, that they have been consistently the department here. They have been staffing. Highway patrol has been making passes through town, not necessarily through the streets, but they've been sitting in town being nearby. Public safety, I don't believe, is an issue,” Addison said.