TOWN POLICE FORCE QUITS

By Bob Walsh

Ok, I grant you, the police force of the teeming metropolis of Green Mountain Falls, Colorado, consists of one appointed Marshall and three part-time volunteer officers, but still it is worthy of note.

They resigned immediately before the new mayor, Jane Newberry, was sworn in. The resignations allegedly were caused by policy differences with the incoming mayor. The mayor denies that allegation.

The town of 700 will, however, not be totally unprotected. Both the El Paso County and Teller County S O will provide police services until a new town Marshall can be appointed.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This tiny town reminds me of Cabazon, California which in the 1960’s consisted of a poker palace and several dozen residents. It had two cops, a chief and a sergeant.

On one occasion, the two were at the scene of a homicide in one of the homes. Not only were the chief and the sergeant standing over the corpse, but just about everyone who lived in Cabazon was there beside them. Suddenly the chief gets a call of a drunk at the poker palace. He and the sergeant rushed out of the house to answer the drunk call, leaving the town’s residents at the now contaminated crime scene gawking at the body.

On another occasion, I was passing through a ticket-taking entrance of the Los Angeles Coliseum. I had gone there for a championship boxing match. I noticed somewhat of a disturbance over by a nearby ticket-taker. It was the Cabazon police chief with his khaki uniform and four stars on each epaulette, trying to con his way in free. I watched for a while, laughing out loud, as were a bunch of other people. I don’t know whether he was finally able to mooch his way in or not, but I sort of doubt it because the ticket-taker was not the least bit impressed by the uniform, police badge and glittering stars.

So when a one or two-man police force quits, it's probably no consequential loss!