Pontiac To Keep Its Police Department
As it turns out, the Oakland County Sheriff's Department will not be patrolling the streets of Pontiac.
In a deal announced Wednesday morning between the city's Emergency Financial Manager and the Police Union, the city will keep its 50 officers on the streets.
Police Chief Val Gross says the deal is good news for those who were afraid of losing their jobs.
"This was something that couldn't be done legally, in the first place, as I've always stated," Gross told reporters, Wednesday. "All the hard man hours and time and heartache and worry put into this shouldn't have even happened," he said.
Gross called the move a "win" for the community.
"The fine working men and women that I have here -- we know this city, we know the citizens. It would take time for an outside agency to come in, patrol our areas. And, the Oakland County Sheriff's department is a fine police department ... but they're not used to patrolling areas like Pontiac," he said.
Massive budget cuts have reduced the police forced by more than 75-percent since 2004.
Gross says he hopes his department can get the extra money that going to go to the Sheriff's department, so he can put more officers on the streets.
