Warm Springs locals weigh in on suspension of police force

WARM SPRINGS, Ga. (WRBL) — Wednesday saw the termination of the Warm Springs Police Chief and the suspension of the police force. A department-wide investigation ensued, now locals are weighing in.

The city is calling on the neighboring law enforcement jurisdictions to assist in maintaining emergency services, but some say the issues with police presence are not recent.

“We have been disappointed with the officer presence in the city for quite a while now,” said former mayor of Warm Springs Sheila Lee. “We had very little officer presence before the investigation began.”

Lee expressed doubt in the assistance from the neighboring law enforcement.

“I don’t think we can do that without there being some sort of compensation for them to come a do that,” Lee said. “The sheriff in our county has expressed he is willing to help us in any situation we need, and we have had to call him to answer a lot of calls down here because of the lack of police presence.”

Though police presence has been low according to Lee, former city council woman Gerri Thompson says the city is no stranger to having a small police force.

“For a long time, we only had one person. When I first went on city council, there was only one policeman in the city of Warm Springs. The terrible things are going to be that the city’s got to figure out how to keep somebody on duty twenty-four-seven,” said Thompson.

The city says the department-wide investigation is active, but Lee says the public wants more answers.

Lee said, “I understand that it’s an on-going investigation and they are not at liberty to discuss what is going on, and we are willing to except that to a certain extent. However, to dismantle a whole police force in a small town is not a good thing.”

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