Texas Town Furloughs Entire Police Force

With its finances stretched to the breaking point, Alto, Texas, is giving its police officers the boot for six months—all five of them. OK, so it’s not exactly the NYPD. But with the county sheriff’s office already overburdened, town residents are afraid losing their small department could have dire consequences. “They’re just throwin’ the town wide open to crime,” one resident tells KTRE.

The soon-to-be-furloughed chief of police is advising residents stay safe and lock their doors until things return to normal. “It’s a shame,” he says. “They don’t really understand the potential for the crime activity that’s fixin’ to happen here.” The town’s mayor agrees with him. “There’s probably gonna be more shootings,” he predicted. “We’re going to defend our castles and it’s gonna be a bang.” (More Texas stories.)