Blanchard City Leaders Consider Getting Rid Of Police Force

<p>Citizen complaints have the City of Blanchard looking at doing away with its police force.</p>

Wednesday, December 2nd 2015, 10:36 pm

By: News 9


Citizen complaints have the City of Blanchard looking at doing away with its police force.

The police union feels blindsided by alleged corruption and misconduct complaints brought forward by Blanchard city leaders, and this isn't the first time. 

“They’re just fed up with those complaints. We’ve issued new cars, we’ve given a pay raise, we signed a contract, but still complaints are still coming in,” Blanchard’s city manager Robert Floyd said.

Corruption allegations within the Blanchard Police Department have new city leadership to consider getting rid of the department all together.

“Whether it be the county sheriff, whether it be another community, or a hybrid of the two,” Floyd said.

Floyd said he's been getting complaints including intimidation since he started the job four years ago.

Now, he's waiting for the city council to give him the go ahead to start "looking at other law enforcement options."

“Yesterday was the first time I’ve heard about any of those allegations,” said Blanchard’s Fraternal Order of Police president Brandon Wheeler.

Union president Wheeler said he has submitted a request to see the complaints.

“We’re not against the investigation at all. We’ve never been against the investigation and we encourage the city manager to bring forth any complaints that he has,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler said the department has nothing to hide and hopes to work things out with the city.

“Our guys that we have here, they like their jobs, they like this community. They like serving this community and they really want to be here,” Wheeler said.

“Not everybody is a crook, not everybody is a thief, you know,” Floyd said. “We want them to have the same courtesy that they want."

The Blanchard City Council will decide later this month on whether to explore other law enforcement options.

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