Posted by Dave Dykema - email
TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - Police Chief Mike Navarre says, "We're not too far from the worst case scenario."
Those words spoken as Toledo suffers a big blow to its police department.
A few days ago city leaders found out they're not getting all of the stimulus money they'd requested. Back in March, they applied for $34 million to bring back 75 laid off cops -- and hire another 75.
The city is only getting a fraction of what they wanted. The Department of Justice says it'll give enough money to bring back 31 officers, not the 150 the city was hoping for.
"Certainly the best case scenario would have been funding for the full 150. The worst case scenario would have been getting shut out. We're not too far from the worst case scenario, at 31. That's certainly a lot less than what I would have anticipated," says Navarre, clearly disappointed with the news.
For months, the department hoped the stimulus money in the "Cops" grant would bring back all laid off officers...and then some.
Now comes the reality that it may not happen.
"We need them," says Navarre. "Our numbers are very low right now."
Last week, some 29 officers returned to duty, thanks to another grant. That funding runs out in December.
This "Cops" money may pay for them to stay on--or bring back 31 different officers--that's up to city leaders.
"I would say this is a blow," says News 11's crime expert retired Sergeant Richard B. Murphy. "It's something we didn't want to hear."
Murphy says several officers who were waiting for the stimulus money and their jobs may now look elsewhere.
"I think what's going to happen is they're going to apply for jobs in other cities throughout the United States, and it's really going to be Toledo's loss."
But there still may be hope.
Thursday Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner delivered a letter to Vice President Joe Biden, pleading for his help to bring more police stimulus money to the city of Toledo.
It's a final push for help to bring Toledo police numbers back up.
