We need bodies!
In Massachusetts, the union representing supervisors at the Amherst Police Department wants increased staffing to ensure the safety of residents and claims that town administrators have ignored the request.
Amherst Police Supervisors Union President Sgt. Gabriel Ting said the union “has serious concerns we choose to share with the community.”
He added, “For several years, and increasingly so, since the large-scale disturbance known as Blarney Blowout five months ago, Amherst Police Department officers have voiced their concerns to the town administrators relative to inadequate police staffing. These concerns have been ignored. Currently, there are no immediate or long-term plans to adequately staff the Amherst Police Department. With the continued growth of the town and expansion of the University of Massachusetts, the union has serious concerns on sufficiently handling calls for service, emergencies, and future large-scale disturbances such as the Blarney Blowout or the Hobart Hoedown.”
Amherst is home to the main campus of the University of Massachusetts with a student body of 22,000 undergraduates and several thousand more graduate students.