GEORGETOWN, Ind. (WDRB) -- The future of the Georgetown Police Department is causing a lot of concern.
Right now, there's a lot of speculation and rumors that the department could be shut down. And the concern is coming from people who live and work in Georgetown and the officers who are sworn to serve and protect the community.
"I feel like this is a relatively safe place to live ,and I just feel like, without a police department that close, ... you just never know what will happen around town," said Hailey Castetter, co-manager of Village House Coffee in Georgetown.
Castetter said someone threw a big rock through a glass door at the Village House Coffee a few months ago, and it shook up some of the employees.
"We have pretty young girls who work here, and it was kind of scary, because we get here at 5 o'clock in the morning, and to see something like that kind of scares you," she said.
That's why Castetter likes having the Georgetown Police Department less than a mile away.
"We called them, and they were here in like two minutes," she said.
But these days, there's a lot of uncertainty about the future of the department.
Georgetown Police Chief Denny Kunkel said despite calls to town council members, he can't get a straight answer.
Georgetown Police Chief Denny Kunkel
"I'm concerned for the community, and I'm concerned for my officers," Kunkel said. "It's leaked out into the community, and I'm starting to get phone calls."
He said what he has heard came from one of his own officers.
"A command officer from another department approached him and basically told him that he might want to be looking for another job, because they're taking over the department," Kunkel said.
The department has four full-time officers and three reserves who cover the local school and growing residential and business areas.
"We have the same thing they have in Louisville, the same thing they have in New Albany," he said.
And that's why Kunkel and people who live and work in Georgetown hope the rumors are false.
"A lot of business owners and a lot of people who live around here would like to know," Castetter said.
The president of the town council said he couldn't comment on the rumors.
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