GREY FOREST, Texas – Grey Forest, a small town of about 500 people, usually goes under the radar, but recent turmoil within its police department has residents airing their frustrations.
Amanda Waldrop, mayor of Grey Forest, said “philosophical differences” led to the departure of the city’s police chief. Three other full-time officers also left in the following weeks.
Waldrop said more than 40 Bexar County reserve deputies are covering the town’s needs for now.
“We’ve talked to Bexar County. They’re helping cover, especially until all of this just settles down. So we’re actually kind of triple covered right now,” she said.
Waldrop said the chatter in the town over the departures is leading to misinformation and fear-mongering.
“We have the interim police administrator who is trying to make sure that the scheduling is all in place because we want everybody to feel safe and comfortable,” she said.
Resident Michael Phillips is concerned about how the mayor has handled the situation. He’s worried about the future of the police department and that criminals will target the town.
“I would love for there to be dedicated officers in the city of Grey Forest who are here, who get to know the community as these previous officers did,” Phillips said. “Elderly members of the Grey Forest community want a quick police response in two or three minutes”.
Waldrop was elected in the spring. Residents say her approach to tightening the city budget has led to some of those “philosophical differences.”
“Once Mandy became mayor, they’ve had practically council meetings every week to try to get the budget, you know, back in a reasonable position,” said resident Irene Scharf.
Some residents KSAT spoke with say they want to know how much money is being given or taken away from the town’s police department in the budget.
The one thing the residents all agreed on was that the town needs a police force.