Two local law enforcement agencies are ready to step up if a local village's police department has to be disbanded.
Fort Shawnee's Village council's finance committee talk about options at a meeting Thursday night. They have been dealing with a financial shortfall for months. To heal their financial ill's, one option, and the most controversial, is getting rid of the police department. The Allen County sheriff's office has a contract with Bath Township to handle police protection and they could do the same for Fort Shawnee.
Fort officials have not approached Sheriff Crish or his people about police protection, but that's not the case with Shawnee Township. Police Chief Mike Keith says he has been approached. Keith says Fort Shawnee sits within the township so his people are already in the area and they already provide mutual aid for the Fort.
He says if he took on the Fort's call load, he might have to add one or two people, but it can be done with relative ease.
