Lawmaker Asks County for Funds to Save Calif. Police Department
A county lawmaker is making a push to save a California police department on the brink of closing over money and officers.
San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa is asking for $750,000 in Measure K funds to be used to help staff the Broadmoor Police Department, KGO-TV reports. Currently, the agency has five full-time officers, and four volunteer reserve officers. The chief works full time but receives a part-timer's pay.
"Most of the reserves we look at are academy graduates," said Chief Mike Connolly. "So they've already gone through that training. We don't have to pay for that. But there is in-house training that we have to do."
Officers are already working 12-hour shifts, and Connolly said he is trying had to keep overtime to a minimum. But that has been difficult as the community has seen an encroaching "crime wave" extending south from San Francisco.
The Broadmoor Police Department is in a unique situation. Founded in 1947, It's the state's last, single-purpose police protective district, covering an area surrounded by Daly City. That means the department doesn't receive the same type of funding that other, traditional local law enforcement agencies receive. This request is the first time in the past 75 years that the police department has asked San Mateo County for assistance.
The department's coverage area spans nearly 2 square miles and includes a population of about 7,200 people. Canepa said he fears the loss of the police department will create a "doughnut hole" of no law enforcement coverage.
"The (San Mateo County) Sheriff's Office has been very clear about this, they don't want the Broadmoor Police Department," said Canepa.
