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In the face of safety concerns, more cuts to police in Royal Oak

Local governments are coming to terms with the effects of the Great Recession as shrinking revenues are leading to police and fire layoffs in many parts of the state.

The Royal Oak Police Department is making cuts to its department. Going from 70 to 65 sworn officers.

This despite the concern over safety in Royal Oak.

From the Daily Tribune:

The Royal Oak Police Department was down sized again Monday from 70 to 65 sworn officers as part of a $34.8 million budget approved for the fiscal year starting July 1. The interim chief said the loss of five more positions through retirements at the end of this month will stretch the thin blue line even more. “It will be devastating. We are reaching a breaking point if we haven’t yet,” O’Donohue said.

The cuts come on the heels of an incident where some residents worried the police department was on the verge of losing control. Again from the Tribune:

Just before 2 a.m. May 22 bar patrons pouring out of Woody’s, O’Toole’s and Fifth Avenue interfered with police breaking up a fight between two men. They encircled the officers and began yelling. Every Royal Oak officer on duty was called to Fifth Street just west of the railroad tracks. Michigan State Police troopers and a Pleasant Ridge officer also responded.

Mark Brush was the station's Digital Media Director. He succumbed to a year-long battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, in March 2018. He was 49 years old.