Southwest
Entire police department resigns after town's 'failure' to meet law enforcement needs: former chief
An entire city’s leadership has crumbled after the failure of political leaders to meet the police department’s needs, its former chief said.
The entire Geary Police Department in Oklahoma — including Chief Alicia Ford — resigned on Oct. 31. City Council members Rocky Coleman and Kristy Miller resigned shortly afterward, as FOX 25 Oklahoma City first reported. Mayor Waylan Upchego then resigned, the Watonga Republican reported.
“The reason that prompted the entire resignation was: it was just a continued failure from the mayor to make change that would affect the department and make it more effective for the community,” Ford told Fox News Digital. “It was just an ongoing issue. He consistently refused to keep his word to us, and that was something that we held him to. When you’re a mayor, you’re [supposed] to lead the city and what’s best for the city and the departments within.”
Ford said she had gone to Upchego and the city council requesting their help to address the overworked and understaffed police department, plus budget cuts that had recently impacted pay and bonuses for officers, on top of some other administrative issues. Nobody stepped up, according to the former police chief.
TOWN’S ENTIRE POLICE DEPARTMENT, INCLUDING CHIEF, RESIGN ON SAME DAY
Geary Police Department Chief Alicia Ford shares a Halloween message on Facebook. (Facebook/ Geary Police Department)
“They cut the jail. They cut our dispatch, and that put strain on us. But we found we went to another agency, and they have done excellent and accommodating us with that dispatch,” Ford explained. “[The mayor] consistently refused to keep his word when it came to basic needs of equipment and the safety issues within our department. We talked about the budget cuts that caused hardships for these officers and myself that were unnecessary.”
Hope added that she knows that police departments across the country have dealt with staffing shortages and budget cuts, but her six-person department had recently dwindled to four, with herself doing administrative chief work, one officer stationed at the local high school, and two officers working extremely long shifts doing regular daily police work.
“Who wants to do that for extremely low pay?”
“So that would lead two officers to do basically 24 hours . . . five to seven days a week. That’s not realistic,” she said. “But honestly, who wants to do that for extremely low pay? I mean, they did it. And honestly, I don’t ever really remember these two officers complaining about it.”
OKLAHOMA SCHOOL CHIEF BILLS KAMALA HARRIS $474M FOR EDUCATION COSTS, CITING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION
The entire Geary, Oklahoma, Police Department resigned. (Facebook/ Geary Police Department)
Ford gave the mayor and city council a month’s notice to address the police department’s concerns, saying that if needs were not met, they would resign. They even offered city leaders a timeline.
“And then we followed through with our timeline,” Ford said.
Ford took on the job of police chief in October 2023 after the department had been rocked by another unrelated scandal.
OKLAHOMA INVESTIGATION FINDS LEADERS ‘GROSSLY NEGLIGENT’ IN MANAGEMENT OF PANDEMIC RELIEF FUNDS
“At first, it was kind of challenging. It was my first year of being a chief of police. I’ve taken several roles in law enforcement, but never that type of administrative, high . . . role,” she explained. “It was great. . . . Geary, Oklahoma, was an amazing community. They were very accepting of me.”
The entire Geary Police Department resigned on Oct. 31. (Google Maps)
Ford has since accepted a position as an investigator with the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office, which helped meet the Geary Police Department’s dispatch needs after budget cuts. Right now, she’s focused on her family.
Coleman shared a letter with FOX 25 explaining his decision to resign from the city council following the police department resignations, saying he had left the council because his “core values do not align with the city’s current direction.”
“I have tried to be a voice of reason. Unfortunately, I was just one voice. The City Council and administration should not allow personal goals or agendas to affect the city. Decisions should be made only to benefit the city,” he wrote, adding that council members lacked communication and were frequently left in the dark about agenda items.
“Transparency is also crucial for communication. I would love to see more communication online, not just in person. For example, the financial reports should be posted for the community to read. I have never shied away from explaining the state of the finances to any citizen who has asked. When people are informed, they are more likely to understand that we have a failing infrastructure and why rate increases must happen. I have repeatedly asked that we be more proactive instead of reactive. We should be prepared for the worst and not hoping for the best.”
Upchego could not immediately be reached for comment. An interim chief has since taken over the Geary PD, and residents are still able to make 911 calls.
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Los Angeles, Ca
LADWP begins long-term repairs after West Hollywood water main rupture
Crews worked overnight on what is expected to be a long-term effort to clean up and repair a broken water main that caused extensive damage in West Hollywood on Thursday.
Yellow tape remained in place Friday morning, blocking streets around Sunset Boulevard and Holloway Drive as crews continued pumping water out of the century-old trunk line.
Asphalt and soil were also being removed so crews could get a better look at the damaged 36-inch trunk line, a major feeder pipe serving the area.
“First and foremost is our crews’ safety,” a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power spokesperson said Thursday. “When we excavate, we are going to have to make sure the area is safe before we send crews in to proceed and start the actual repairs on the pipe.”
The water main ruptured around 3 a.m. Thursday, sending thousands of gallons of water rushing through West Hollywood streets, flooding dozens of garages and pushing parked cars into one another.
A Metro bus yard was also flooded, leaving several buses partially submerged.
The force of the water washed away dirt and gravel supporting the roadway, creating a massive sinkhole on Sunset Boulevard and a smaller one near Palm Avenue, where two people fell in.
“I’m astounded by the massive sinkhole that has just opened up before our eyes,” KTLA’s Annie Rose Ramos reported Thursday from Palm Avenue.
The two men appeared to be uninjured.
As for the larger trunk line that burst beneath Sunset Boulevard, KTLA’s Carlos Herrera reported it was scheduled for replacement in 2031.
LADWP officials now hope to establish a repair timeline after getting a closer look at the damage Friday. For now, the intersection is expected to remain closed for anywhere from several days to several weeks.
The cause of the rupture remains under investigation.
Los Angeles, Ca
Arrest made in deadly shooting at 4th of July gathering in Compton; search for 2nd suspect continues
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna gave an update Thursday on several shootings over the Fourth of July weekend that left three people dead and several others injured.
Police arrested Antoine Jones, a 50-year-old man from the Los Angeles area, who they believe is responsible for the murder of a 19-year-old woman and the attempted murder of two additional surviving female victims who were attending a large community block party in Compton.
On July 4 at approximately 11:40 p.m., deputies from the Compton station responded to an apartment complex on the 700 block of West Laurel Street following reports of multiple people being shot.
Meah Bordenave-Jenkins, a 19-year-old nursing student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was killed when gunfire broke out at the party.
Deputies located Bordenave-Jenkins and the two other women suffering from gunshot wounds outside of the apartment complex.
“While today’s announcement represents an important step towards justice for Meah and her family, our work is very far from being over,” said LASD Sheriff Robert Luna.
The LASD is also seeking the public’s help in identifying those responsible for the murder of Eric Washington, 37, a beloved community activist and former government staffer, and the attempted murder of another surviving man injured that same night at the same party.
Washington was reportedly killed while trying to deescalate a conflict at the party, his family said. Deputies found victim Washington suffering from a gunshot wound inside the complex.
Investigators later learned that another man had also been shot at some point during the incident.
Bordenave-Jenkins and Washington both died from their injuries. The remaining victims, two women and a man, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and have been released from the hospital. They have not been identified by police.
Detectives determined the two shootings happened moments apart at the party but appear to be separate and unrelated.
Detectives identified Jones as the suspect responsible for Bordenave-Jenkins’ death and the attempted murder of the two surviving women. Authorities located Jones on July 14 in Los Angeles and took him into custody.
The LASD is still searching for the suspect or suspects responsible for the murder of Washington and the attempted murder of the surviving male victim.
“Although today’s arrest is significant, this investigation remains extremely active,” Luna said.
“There were hundreds of people at this gathering,” Luna said. “Somebody knows, somebody saw or somebody heard what happened.”
The LASD also announced they’re searching for a suspect in a separate shooting at a different Fourth of July gathering that occurred in the early morning of July 5.
At approximately 12:10 a.m., Compton deputies responded to the 2100 block of North Grandee Avenue, where they located a 30-year-old victim, Thaddeus Clark, and a second victim suffering from gunshot wounds at the gathering.
Clark, a father of three, did not survive his injuries, Luna said.
The LASD is urging anyone with information about Clark’s murder and the attempted murder of the surviving victim to contact the LASD Homicide Bureau.
Although these shooting incidents occurred at gatherings less than an hour apart, investigators found no evidence that the two were connected, Luna said.
Luna also announced three suspects have been arrested in connection with a shooting in East L.A. on July 5. It happened as crowds crossed the intersection near Whittier Boulevard and Leonard Avenue during a World Cup match.
Four people were hit by gunfire, including two men, one woman and a boy. None of the injuries were life-threatening.
The sheriff said the alleged shooter, a 15-year-old known gang member, was arrested. Two female suspects, ages 21 and 38, have been arrested in the Lancaster and Palmdale areas for their alleged roles in luring the primary victim to the location and assisting the shooting suspect in evading arrest.
They’re all facing four counts of attempted murder.
Los Angeles, Ca
Water main break floods West Hollywood streets, traps cars
A broken water main sent water gushing from an apartment building and turned nearby streets into rivers in West Hollywood early Thursday morning. The break was reported around 3 a.m. near Holloway Drive and Sunset Boulevard. “It’s a rupture of one of the significant mains that goes through here. West Hollywood, as it turns out, […]
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