The debate of police consolidation is done — at least for now.
Members of the Alachua County legislative delegation unanimously decided Monday to withdraw a bill that would have created a committee to look into merging the Gainesville Police Department and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office.
The removal of the bill halted a process that may have resulted in the sheriff’s office absorbing GPD and eliminating the police department.
State Rep. Chuck Chestnut, the delegation chair, said the delegation withdrew the bill because the majority of the public didn’t support it.
“I was a little bit surprised at how quickly the delegation realized they were going down the wrong path,” City Commissioner Warren Nielsen said.
The issue had been a sore spot with police, commissioners and citizens. Some people had drawn lines in the sand — GPD on one side and the sheriff’s office on the other. Others say it isn’t a matter of which department is better; it’s just a matter of money.
The Florida Police Benevolent Association argued that consolidation would help ease problems with understaffing.
Brandon Kutner, president of the local Police Benevolent Association chapter, said a study should be done eventually.
“This doesn’t make the idea of unification go away,” he said in a later interview.
Some citizens said they don’t want to be taxed for a study that will get rid of a police department they like.
Doris Edwards, a Gainesville resident, said she and others in her neighborhood have gotten to know the GPD police officers; she even has their cell phone numbers.
She said she doesn’t want to see that relationship evaporate.
“I say if you want it, you have to work for it,” she said. “You can’t just expect to come in and take it from the city of Gainesville.”
As buzzards literally circled over the Thomas Center’s glass ceiling, citizens, officers and mayors told the delegation whether they thought creating a group to study the effects of a merger would be a good idea. Most said it wouldn’t.
“The state is short on money. The city is short on money,” said J.W. Honeysucker, a Gainesville resident. “We cannot afford this study right now.”
Alachua County Sheriff Sadie Darnell said the delegation made the right call based on what the citizens thought, but she said she was disappointed that many people are against unification.
“What should have been a positive turned into a negative,” she said.
