Inkster Police Chief Suggests Wayne County Sheriff's Department Take Over Patrols

INKSTER (AP/WWJ) - Inkster's police chief is proposing the city eliminated his department and hire the Wayne County Sheriff's Department to patrol the cash-strapped Detroit suburb.

The Detroit News says Chief Hilton Napoleon outlined the plan Wednesday at a meeting of the Wayne County Commission. He's the brother of Sheriff Benny Napoleon.

The city of 25,000 narrowly avoided takeover by an emergency manager and has been operating under a financial consent decree with the state. Napoleon says his 25 officers are struggling to meet the city's law enforcement needs.

Napoleon says the force was 73 only a few years ago.

City Manager Richard Marsh says Inkster would pay the county about $2.6 million a year, the amount it now spends to operate its own department. Officers who want to keep their jobs would have to apply to become sheriff's deputies.

A similar plan has been at work in neighboring Oakland County for a few years now. The struggling Pontiac Police Department was disbanded in 2010, allowing the county to take over city policing duties to help chip away at a $9 million deficit.

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