BIG BEND, Wis. — Big Bend's police force is dwindling fast after half of the department's officers resigned in one day.
Following a tough year, the Big Bend Police Department announced in a Facebook post Thursday that five of their officers would be leaving.
Village resident Bryan Bindel said the mass exodus is the result of a village board that doesn't listen to it's constituents.
"When you have everybody coming to public comments telling you they want to keep the police and fire department," Bindel said, "you need do want the majority of the village wants."
Beginning in September the village board shared plans to disband it's police department in favor of allowing the Waukesha County Sheriff's Office to take over.
It's a move that was met with controversy from the start but tensions only grew following the sudden death of the Big Bend Police Chief Don Gaglione in October.
“I mean every time you turn around the village board has been going after them and the fire department," Bindel said.
Then in November the Big Bend Professional Police Association announced the department was "here to stay" after working with the village's finance committee to approve the 2024 police budget and a collective bargaining agreement between the Village and rank and file officers.
However on December 7th, tensions again arose at a Board of Trustees meeting, leading then Big Bend officer James Soneberg to storm out.
"I am tired of the harassment of this village Board and all the crap that I've been dealing with throughout the years," Soneberg said before leaving the room.
Now Bindel is among many others in the village, some on social media, expressing their disdain for the board.
Bindel also said, though he never wanted to get into politics, come next election he's going to run for office and do what the board hasn't: fix the problem.
The department said all of the officers who resigned either came from or now work at other agencies.
TMJ4 reached out to several board members including president Jeff Goodman for comment but as of Friday night received no response.
The police department's fate is expected to be a hot button issue at the next Village board meeting on Thursday Jan. 4th.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
