ELGIN, Ore. (AP) — Half a year after both of its officers quit, the northeastern Oregon town Elgin has given up trying to rebuild a police department.
The fatal shooting of a resident last year touched off a protest in the town of 1,700 people in the Grande Ronde Valley. Residents complained the officers were heavy-handed, a review by outside police chiefs was critical, the victim’s wife sued the city, and the mayor barely survived a recall election.
The La Grande Observer (http://bit.ly/IMdxB9) reports the City Council has given up plans to hire a police chief and staff a three-officer department. It has decided not to hire either of the two finalists for the top job.
Instead, it hopes to complete negotiations with the county for the sheriff’s office to provide law enforcement.
