VELDA CITY, Mo. — Velda City, a small municipality in St. Louis County, no longer has a police force as of 2 p.m. on Friday.
The Velda City Police Department made the surprising announcement in a long Facebook post, saying all officers have resigned due to internal issues with the city's mayor and board of aldermen.
"Be advised that as of 2 p.m. today (Friday, May 15, 2024), Velda City nor Flordell Hills will no longer have police services," the department said in a Facebook post. "This is a result of all commissioned police officers of the Velda City Police Department resigning due to the members of the municipal government essentially forcing us out."
The date written on the Facebook post was May 15, though the post was made on March 15.
The department only had three officers patrolling the streets for the entire city for the past several months, according to the post. The officers reportedly worked seven days a week and felt underappreciated by the city government.
"Not three officers per shift, three officers total for the department that wanted accountability and transparency failed to assume the accountability to properly staff a police department," the post said. "Because the city created a hostile work environment, in addition to the city's failure to properly/adequately staff a police department, leading to a substantial risk of serious physical injury, or death to an officer being left on for two cities by himself, all officers of the Velda City Police Department decided that it was in their best interest as well as the best interest of their safety and well-being to resign."
Velda City Mayor Gwendolyn Buggs said in a statement that she had asked the city of Pagedale to provide emergency law enforcement for the time being. Next week, Buggs and the board of aldermen will decide when they will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the next steps.
“I can tell you this. It wasn’t expected," said Anthony Gray, the city attorney for Velda City.
The department cited financial hardships and “internal issues" with Velda City’s mayor and board of aldermen.
“They’re faced with a financial decision about whether they’re collecting enough tax revenues to support a full-time police department," Gray said. "We don’t think that we’re on the brink of being insolvent, but we can use some relief by contracting out our major services. As for internal issues that would affect the operations or the administration, I’m unaware of that."
“The city of Velda City is a close area with us," said Chief Anthony Huckleberry with the Pagedale Police Department. "All emergency services will continue to go on. I can also say the Pagedale Police Department has reduced crime to 42% over the last seven to eight years. We are internationally, accredited police department.“
“It’s a big issue," Herb Jones, who has lived in Velda City for more than 30 years, said. “ ... I think whoever comes by and patrols the neighborhood is fine."
Pagedale’s police chief said St. Louis County Police will now patrol the nearby community of Flordell Hills.
“We want to reassure residents that if they pick up the phone and call 911, a police officer will be there," Gray said.
This is a developing story. This article will be updated with the latest information as it is released.
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