(AP) – Mountain Pine City Council has dissolved its one-man
police force with the intention of contracting patrol coverage from the Garland
County Sheriff’s Department.
The Sentinel-Record reports the council disbanded the police department
Monday. Mountain Pine Mayor Rick Petty Sr. said Tuesday the decision could not
be avoided after Police Chief Chad King was shot three times responding to a
criminal trespass call January 2016. King, who is also a commissioned sheriff’s
deputy, is alive but not cleared to return to work.
Because Mountain Pine is classified as a second-class city due to its
population of fewer than 800 people, City Attorney Brian Albright says the city
isn’t required to have a police force. Albright says the city is planning to
negotiate an interlocal agreement with the county to hire a sheriff’s deputy.
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