Residents speak out against disbandment of Forward Township Police Department
FORWARD TOWNSHIP (KDKA) — Community members are banding together to fight the disbandment of the Forward Township Police Department.
People from Forward and Elizabeth townships nearly filled a room in the Rostraver Ice Garden for a meeting on Tuesday night.
"All of us are going to join together and get them back, we need them back," said Lori Sleith.
Forward Township supervisors voted to disband the Forward Township Police Department earlier this month. Elizabeth Township police are now providing police protection in Forward Township. Many residents are not taking the change lightly.
"Upset, mad, furious, because our police are always there for us no matter what. It wasn't just like a police department, they were friends. They stop and chat regardless of if you called or not. Coming down your road, they were always right there for you," Slieth said.
Some want the police force to come back, and others don't agree with how the decision was made. Many residents said they had no clue the vote was going to happen and they never got to share their input.
"I was shocked. I got a text from a friend who doesn't even live in Forward Township. Then, I heard it on the news," said Janet Tauber.
Former Forward Township Police Chief Travis Stoffer's wife, Jayme Stoffer, organized the meeting. He said he and his officers didn't get a heads up and were left without jobs.
"It's really been difficult, kind of still in the shock phase, really not sure what we're going to do," Travis said.
Township supervisors told KDKA-TV that it was a unanimous vote and it came down to a lack of police officers to fill the shifts. Travis said his officers were able to cover all shifts.
The former Forward Township police chief said he would have been OK with a merger. He and his wife want residents from both townships to band together and create a committee.
"To bring accountability and to give the people a chance to speak and hold the supervisors accountable for what they did," Travis said.
"I'm not against regionalization of police departments, it's inevitable in our area. But it has to be done properly, can't be done out of spite, it can't be done out of a last-minute decision, it can't be politically motivated. It has to be well-thought-out and researched," said Jayme.
The next step for this group of residents will be gathering all the ideas that were shared and getting the committee together. They will hold another meeting soon.
Elizabeth Township Police Chief Ken Honick said in a statement to KDKA, "Logistically, ETPD is able to take on this joint services agreement. We are a growing Municipal Police Agency and Elizabeth Township's commission board fully supports a police footprint with the highest level of training, services, and resources to accomplish a safe and secure community both here and now in our neighboring community."