Community decides against disbanding police department; Issue remains on council’s agenda

ST. PARIS, Champaign County — Community members are not happy with the idea of wiping out their police department.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, the Village of St. Paris is looking to dissolve its police department and enter a community policing plan with the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office.

TRENDING STORIES:

• Fugitive killed, SWAT officer injured during police standoff at Ohio hotel
• 35-year-old man stabbed, killed with ‘Samurai sword’ after asking man for cigarette
• Homemade bomb found after man tells wife he wants to blow something up, deputies say

Residents and police leaders shared their opinions during the village council meeting on Monday.

The meeting was moved to a larger facility because the municipal building couldn’t hold all the residents who wanted to attend.

“Tonight’s debate is not about removing police protection from the village… it’s about a different form of policing specifically about whether we should close the village police department and outsource the sheriff,” Councilman Joe Curran said.

The council said dissolving the police department would help with village costs. Residents let the council know that they don’t think it’s the right move.

People are worried about how long it would take sheriff’s deputies to show up during emergencies.

“I think the way to get back on track here is to start holding some community meetings and just say what is it you expect from your police department. What’s going on in your neighborhood as far as crime?” President of the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio John DiPietro said.

The village council said disbanding the police department was not an emergency that needed to be decided on during Monday’s meeting.

In the meantime, DiPietro hopes the mayor will talk to residents about what crime they notice in their area and what they expect of their local law enforcement.

“Small towns that can’t generate the funds to keep it going, they are absorbed by the sheriff’s department, and you know, it could be a good thing, it could be a bad thing. But I don’t see the need here in St. Paris, they’ve got a good thing going here,” DiPietro said. “When you have a small police department that builds that relationship with their community, that’s a tough one to give up.”

The option of dissolving the St. Paris Police Department is not off the table and the village will vote on this issue again.

News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.

[SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]