King City hears residents’ opinions on police departments’ future

On Monday, King City said it’s looking for solutions by turning to the community for answers. That’s what council members said they’re doing as the police department’s future hangs in the balance. With help from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, the city said its residents are currently safe. But some in the community still seem torn over what’s best for public safety.

King City council members said for now there are two options: Build up the current department or have the sheriff’s office take over the police department’s duties. So far, it’s hard to tell which direction the majority of residents are leaning.

”Our officers risk their lives every day for all of us who live here in King City and some of you talk about disbanding our police department,” said a King City resident.

At Monday night’s public forum, some residents pleaded with city leaders to keep the police department, while others said they’re open to other options. King City Union School District Superintendent Theresa Rouse said she thinks the discussion was productive, but hopes the city will hold more in the coming weeks.

“We have 2,600 students in this school district and we work closely with the police department and the sheriff’s department and so it’s important that we’re aware of what the next steps are,” Rouse said.

In front of a packed city hall, Mayor Robert Cullen explained the city is still looking for an interim police chief, despite failed efforts to partner with Greenfield for shared services last week.

“Yeah it was a setback, but nothing that’s going to have too drastic of an impact,” Cullen said.

Cullen said the city invited the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office to hear residents’ concerns, as it continues to develop plans for the possibility of full-time coverage. Sheriff Steve Bernal said King City is looking at a five year option and all current police employees would have to start from scratch.

“Anybody who goes to work for the sheriff’s office has to go through our testing process. There are no exceptions. We have our set of standards and anybody we hire, we expect them to go through our hiring process,” Bernal said.

For city leaders, part of the process in coming to a conclusion is reminding residents they’re safe in the meantime.

“Citizens in King City pick up the phone and dial 911, no matter if it’s day or night they’re going to have either a police officer or a deputy, that’s going to come to their aid. That’s something that gets lost in the conversation I think it’s important to remind the public of that,” Cullen said.

King City officials said they are planning to hold more public forums as more information becomes available. City leaders said they plan to make their decision based on input from residents.