Whole police force quits on same day, Missouri officials say. ‘Privilege to serve you’
An entire Missouri police department announced its resignation, citing budget constraints, officials said.
The Bollinger County Sheriff’s Office announced in an Aug. 21 Facebook post that all members of the Marble Hill Police Department submitted their resignations on Aug. 19.
The resignations will take effect Aug. 23, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Marble Hill Chief of Police announced her resignation, saying, “I cannot faithfully support my officers and provide you, the citizens of Marble Hill, with law enforcement services you all deserve due to the city putting constraints on the budget and cutting into the police budget.”
The chief said all other officers “resigned on their own accord.”
McClatchy News reached out to Marble Hill Mayor Trey Wiginton for comment and additional context on alleged budget constraints on Aug. 22 but did not immediately hear back.
Along with Chief Kristin Nenninger, the department consists of a captain and two patrol officers, The Standard-Democrat reported.
City attorney Richard Whiffen told KFVS that people have submitted applications to fill the open positions, and volunteers have offered to help until officers are hired.
The sheriff’s office said it is working with Marble Hill officials to “negotiate a resolution to ensure that law enforcement services will continue to be provided” to the city.
Marble Hill is about a 115-mile drive south from St. Louis with a population of 1,388 according to 2020 Census data.
This story was originally published August 23, 2024 at 7:24 AM with the headline "Whole police force quits on same day, Missouri officials say. ‘Privilege to serve you’."
