King council considering closing police department

KING, N.C. (By Deven Swartz, WGHP) — King City Council is considering getting rid of its police department in order to save money.

Councilmembers at Monday night’s meeting said they wanted to study how much it would cost for deputies from the Stokes County Sheriff’s Office to patrol the city.

King Police chief Paula May said she doesn’t believe deputies could provide the same level of patrols. As a result, she believes closing the department is not the right way to save money.

“If we need to take a cut out of the city’s budget, is public safety really where we want to start? Are we really entertaining the elimination of a life-saving entity before we discuss cutting a really nice fireworks display? Again, it’s a matter of priorities,” May said.

There is no word on when the study would be completed.