Entire police force quits at once leaving the mayor 'heartbroken'
There is no questioning that being a police officer is one of the most important jobs in our society.
Alongside the likes of healthcare workers, they look after the public's best interests, putting others' needs ahead of theirs, and sometimes even risking their lives in the process.
To say they are vital to a local community is an understatement, meaning a small city in the south of Minnesota has been left shocked and devastated.
As per NBC News, the entire Goodhue Police Department has resigned because of issues surrounding pay, with the officers earning $22-an-hour.
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Mayor Ellen Anderson Buck confirmed the news at a City Council meeting on Monday (14 August) - a meeting that was initially called so the city could discuss potential salary increases for the department.
But the entire team resigned from their positions before the meeting had even took place.
The city, which is in the county of the same name, is home to just over 1,000 people, all of which are left with the real possibility of having no police force to call on when in need of help.
The resignations began with Goodhue Police Chief Josh Smith who offered his resignation at a City Council meeting last Wednesday (9 August).
After hearing about Smith's departure, a full-time officer and five part-time employees resigned from their posts, too.
"Since the resignations have been handed in by our police department, it has been recommended by our city attorney that at this point we need to pursue our other options," Anderson Buck said at the meeting.
"So, at this point, there's no reason to really talk about pay increases, since we no longer have a police force."
Before he had resigned, Smith said at a council meeting that the police department had 'zero applicants' and disclosed that other law enforcement agencies were trying tor recruit him and some of his colleagues.
"So right now with our current - trying to hire at $22 an hour, you're never going to see another person again walk through those doors. That's it," he said.
"Unless you guys do a dramatic change."
Smith added that the pay needed to be addressed as a matter of urgency and that agencies were able to offer some of his staff at least $30-an-hour.
"There's zero incentive to come out here to a small town, low pay, being on call, affecting your free time and everything else," he said.
Callum Jones