John Oxford
NORMAN PARK — The Norman Park City Council is in the process of deciding whether to continue to have a police department.
Norman Park Mayor Sandy Hurst said no decision has been made about whether to keep the police department or not. The council is looking into different options, but it was not known when a decision may be made.
The Norman Park Police Department employed two officers, and Hurst said both left the department of their own free will. Sgt. Sam Smith left the department in August, and Chief Shane Fulford left in September to become police chief in Doerun. She said she believes they left to pursue better pay and more benefits rather than any type of disagreement with city officials.
“There were no hard feelings of any kind,” Hurst said.
To help protect the residents of Norman Park, Hurst said she has asked the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office to assist until a decision is made. Deputies patrol the city throughout the day and help out with crossing guard duty at Norman Park Elementary School.
Colquitt County Sheriff Al Whittington said he told the Norman Park council he would beef up patrol there to help out, but he could not leave a deputy there on a constant basis. Deputy patrol in Norman Park would be the same as other unincorporated areas or like municipalities that do not have a police department, such as Funston and Ellenton, he said.
“I told them we would help them out all we could,” Whittington said. “We would be seen and ride through as much as we can.”
Hurst said residents have been giving council members their thoughts about keeping a police department or disbanding it. The council will be meeting at some point to discuss whether they want to keep a department or not.
Keeping a department would be costly, as Hurst said about three-fourth’s of the city’s annual budget goes to the police department. With the vacancies, however, the city has been receiving applications for people wanting to join the police department there.
