STONEVILLE, N.C. — The future of the Stoneville Police Department is unclear, as the town considers dismantling the department and having the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office patrol the area. A potential shift could see half a dozen officers stepping aside as county deputies take over.
According to a Stoneville police officer, who asked to remain anonymous, the entire department was blindsided by the news. Concerns arose from a Facebook post suggesting Stoneville was getting rid of its police department.
"It really was like a slap in the face. It took us all by surprise," the anonymous officer told WFMY.
The primary reasons behind the potential change are funding and staffing issues. The town attorney explained that Stoneville is on a tight budget, and cutting the department could save money. If the police department is dissolved, the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office will take over. However, Sheriff Sam Page believes the town should try to keep the department operational.
"My input would be this: Maintain your police force. If you can afford it, you maintain your police force," Page said. "It's so important because that is the identity and helps the citizens. It puts the citizens at ease when they see that police officer out there patrolling the streets,/"
That hits close to home for the Stoneville officer. He said the bond the officers have with the community is special.
"We love our town, we love the citizens. The overwhelming support we've gotten over the last week has us all scratching our heads on why this was ever brought up in the first place," the officer said.
Tammy Evans is a long-time resident of Stoneville and owns an antique shop downtown. She raised her family in the town and said her children have gotten to the know the officers and trust them.
"They look up to the police force, they look up to the police officers. Sometimes it makes a difference in a small town," Evans said.
A major concern among residents and officers is that shifting to county coverage could increase response times, which could be critical in emergencies. The anonymous officer shared a recent incident where he said a quick response from police potentially prevented a tragedy.
“I got a call for a domestic violence incident. And then my response time on that particular call was, about three minutes ... it was a domestic between a boyfriend and girlfriend. The mother of, the male involved had called 911. When I get there, she tells me that if I hadn't gotten there right when I did, she would be dead, that he would end up killing her and that's just, that's just one scenario of where, you know, for one if we wouldn't have had a Stoneville Police Department on that particular scene, that call just being answered initially would have been 15 to 20 minutes, which could have easily resulted in going from a domestic to just a homicide situation," the officer explained.
The town of Stoneville will publicly discuss the matter for the first time on Aug. 6 at the Vera Holland Building at 7 p.m.
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