Demorest, Georgia, is about to lose nearly its entire police force. Over roughly a month, the assistant chief, five other officers and three civilian staff members walked away from the department. On Friday, Chief Casey Chastain, who served the department for 12 years, turned in his resignation too. As of Monday night, just two officers remained, and Chastain expects one of them to leave in the coming days.

That could leave an entire city with a single police officer.

Chastain says the exodus traces back to a breakdown with City Hall, especially the city manager. "They're just micromanaging everything we do," he told 11Alive. He also alleges that officers were asked to take actions he believes would break the law. "It's wanting us to do things we can't legally do, violating our own oath of office," Chastain said, according to 11Alive. The city manager did not respond to 11Alive's request for comment.

These are serious allegations, and residents deserve to know whether they are true. Families in Demorest also deserve to know who will show up when they call for help. Chastain says he has coordinated with the Habersham County Sheriff's Office so emergency calls still get answered, but that is a stopgap, not a plan.

The Demorest Mayor and City Council have the authority to fix this. They should order an independent review of the chief's allegations, hold a public meeting explaining how residents will be kept safe in the meantime, and commit to rebuilding a fully staffed department under leadership that lets officers do their jobs within the law. Hiring new officers without fixing what drove the last ones away would only repeat the cycle.

Chastain described Demorest as an award-winning department. It can be one again, but only if city leaders act now.

Sign the petition to demand that Demorest leaders investigate the resignations and restore a fully staffed police force before residents are left unprotected.