Del City residents express worry, frustration over police department cuts

By Lea Terry
Midwest City Beacon

It was standing room only at Monday night’s Del City council meeting as residents showed up to voice their concern over recent budget cuts to Del City’s police department.

The situation drew attention on Sept. 26 when it was reported that Police Chief Loyd Berger had been placed on administrative leave following a disagreement with city management at a budget meeting.

City Manager JD Hock confirmed after Monday night’s meeting that Berger remains on leave.

Chris Massey, president of the Del City Fraternal Order of Police #114, spoke at the meeting, saying that the union and the city are working together to resolve the issues. City leaders initially scheduled a community meeting to discuss the issue further, but it has been postponed indefinitely.

Mayor Floyd Eason said everyone involved wants a safe and secure Del City.

“There’s going to be a year or so where we’re going to have to tighten our belts,” Eason said.

Cuts to the police department include eliminating the assistant chief position and some support roles.

Ward 1 Councilperson Michael Dean said making the cuts was a “last resort” that was needed to save the city. He praised City Manager JD Hock for creating a plan to make the city solvent and stressed that officers are still on the street.

“We are not defunding the police,” Dean said.

The cuts have prompted confusion and anger on social media, with residents frustrated by what they saw as a lack of communication from city officials. Dean addressed this, referring to what he called disturbing behavior on social media and calling out residents for not looking into the issue. He added that no one had called his office to get more information.

“This is not the real Del City I know,” he said.

Resident Derrel Howard spoke about the rumors that had circulated and how they were a distraction to the city and to the police department.

“There needs to be a city statement, a police department statement letting everyone know what is going on,” Howard said. “I think if it doesn’t happen soon, it’s going to start having an impact on morale.”

Resident Dena Hale expressed worry over the impact of police department cuts once the Oklahoma County Detention Center relocates to its proposed location at 1901 E. Grand Blvd., near the border between Oklahoma City and Del City.

“When the jail gets put in on top of us, I’d like to know that my police department is fully staffed and trained and free to be focused on the job at hand,” Hale said. “It’s my understanding that we don’t even have a police chief, and I hope that the city can rectify these things.”

City Manager JD Hock addressed the crowd, saying that city council and city staff respect the police department.

“These decisions are not easy, and the work we have to do to be able to balance the budget is not easy,” Hock said.

This article was edited Oct. 9 after learning that the city had postponed the community meeting scheduled for Oct. 14.