The Goodhue Police Department in Southeast Minnesota will cease to exist next week.
Police Chief Josh Smith and six officers submitted their resignations, citing insufficient pay, benefits and no recruitment prospects. “We’ve got zero applicants, and I have zero prospects,” Chief Smith lamented last month. “I’ve called every PD around looking for the youngest guys out there getting into the game. There’s nobody getting into the game.”
The scheduled resignation follows a final warning from Smith to the Goodhue City Council at a meeting on July 26.
As WND reports:
Officers currently receive $22 an hour, which Smith claims is far less than even smaller departments receive in other locations, according to the Star Tribune. Although the city offered officers a 5% raise earlier this year and gave the police chief a $13,000 bonus, the officers receive minimal pay compared to precincts of the same size, KARE 11 reported.
“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,” Smith said on July 26, according to the Star Tribune.
When called at their non-emergency number, the Goodhue City Police Department line goes directly to a pre-recorded statement that instructs the caller to leave a message or call the Goodhue County Police Department instead for immediate assistance.
Goodhue Mayor Ellen Anderson Buck and City Councilmember Chris Schmit intend to meet with Goodhue County Sheriff Marty Kelly on Wednesday, according to KROC News. Goodhue currently plans to rely on the county’s police officers to replace their city officers after August 23, KROC News reports.
The state legislator representing Goodhue claimed low morale caused by the left’s treatment of police officers was also a primary factor.
Rep. Pam Altendorf (R-Red Wing) told the conservative Minnesota blog Alpha News: “The real story is Minnesota’s police shortage and that smaller towns — like Goodhue and its more limited tax base — are not able to match the large salaries and significant sign-on bonuses that bigger departments can offer.” Altendorf, who laid the blame at the feet of Gov. Tim Walz (D), continued: “The recruitment of police is in high demand in Minnesota, and this is mainly due to the failed policies of the Walz administration and the degrading of our police officers.”
F around and find out
I don’t blame them! No one wants to even live in Minnesota!
$22/hr, your life on the line. Come on, man.
Most fast food joints pay more than that !!!!
Don’t ya just hate it when leftist politians give their police the middle finger and then the police all resign at once?
What most Americans don’t understand is what is going on in Goodhue is part of the socialist/communist agenda that started with the Defund the Police movement of BLM and Antifa. The goal is to damage law enforcement enough to cause huge increases in crime. When the people are frightened enough they will beg the Federal Government to step in. That is when the federal government will step in and we will see a new government National Police similar to the Gestapo that ruled Germany with iron boots prior to WWII. This has been the plan of the democRAT communist party since Obama was installed into the W.H. Your only solution is to heavily arm yourself and defend your family and property yourself. The feds are just waiting to take over everything.
Interesting….never thought about it like that….kept wondering why they keep letting such lawlessness continue…..this fits right in with all of their other shananigans….and I’m very concerned that they are accomplishing their goals….nothing…or no one seems to be able to stop them….are we too far gone?
Ps…..if we are…too far gone….I’m really screwed cause I don’t own a gun….
I’ll bet crime goes down. Unfortunately, the price of doughnuts may drop as well.