Post by Shuftin on Aug 28, 2006 0:44:49 GMT -5
2006-08-26
ALEXANDRIA, TENNESSEE – Alexandria Police Chief Jim Baker has been the town's top cop for about a year. He knows the community and he knows most of the people.
"It's a nice town," Baker said.
With such a nice thing to say, you just have to wonder why Chief Baker has called it quits.
"They wanted me to abandon the day shift and work from 3:00 in the evening to 7:00 in the morning, seven days a week," Baker said.
Baker said town leaders wanted to save money by eliminating around the clock police protection.
Since Baker didn't agree with that, he and two other officers turned in their resignations.
By the end of their shift on Thursday, the entire police department will be no more.
"I've been doing this for a long time. I know what the town needs and my officers know what they town needs and they just won’t let us do our job correctly," Baker said.
With no police protection, some nearby businesses fear the community will become a magnet for criminals.
F.Z. Web & Son Pharmacy has seen its share of problems in the past. Local police could handle the problems since they were just a few feet away.
"We could just walk out the back door and holler if we needed somebody," Renee Hale, with the pharmacy, said.
Baker said the Dekalb County Sheriff Department will continue to patrol the area.
The Mayor has been on the job for about two weeks, and he said he would do everything in his power to keep around-the-clock police protection.
As far as local businesses, many of them have taken police protection into their own hands. They have installed security cameras, and they plan to hire a private security guard to patrol the area.
The town has appointed a temporary police chief, who is well known in Dekalb County. Mark Collins is the sheriff deputy who was involved in a standoff with a woman holding a gun to her son's head three years ago.
Friday, Collins will begin his new position as Alexandria Police Chief.
ALEXANDRIA, TENNESSEE – Alexandria Police Chief Jim Baker has been the town's top cop for about a year. He knows the community and he knows most of the people.
"It's a nice town," Baker said.
With such a nice thing to say, you just have to wonder why Chief Baker has called it quits.
"They wanted me to abandon the day shift and work from 3:00 in the evening to 7:00 in the morning, seven days a week," Baker said.
Baker said town leaders wanted to save money by eliminating around the clock police protection.
Since Baker didn't agree with that, he and two other officers turned in their resignations.
By the end of their shift on Thursday, the entire police department will be no more.
"I've been doing this for a long time. I know what the town needs and my officers know what they town needs and they just won’t let us do our job correctly," Baker said.
With no police protection, some nearby businesses fear the community will become a magnet for criminals.
F.Z. Web & Son Pharmacy has seen its share of problems in the past. Local police could handle the problems since they were just a few feet away.
"We could just walk out the back door and holler if we needed somebody," Renee Hale, with the pharmacy, said.
Baker said the Dekalb County Sheriff Department will continue to patrol the area.
The Mayor has been on the job for about two weeks, and he said he would do everything in his power to keep around-the-clock police protection.
As far as local businesses, many of them have taken police protection into their own hands. They have installed security cameras, and they plan to hire a private security guard to patrol the area.
The town has appointed a temporary police chief, who is well known in Dekalb County. Mark Collins is the sheriff deputy who was involved in a standoff with a woman holding a gun to her son's head three years ago.
Friday, Collins will begin his new position as Alexandria Police Chief.