Arkoma police force calls it quits
ARKOMA -- Everyone on the police force turned in their badges Wednesday.
The Arkoma Police Chief John Buszek, and the two officers under him, Amy Guzman and Joey Oliver, turned in their letters of resignation Wednesday, said Arkoma Town Administrator Greg Buckley.
An interim chief had been named Thursday, Buckley said. Thomas Lenard, who served as a former police chief, has stepped in with one reserve officer on duty for the town of about 1,800 people. Arkoma is located on the west side of State Line Road that borders southwest Fort Smith.
The Le Flore County, Oklahoma Sheriff's office will provide coverage for the town as needed. Pocola police officers can provide mutual assistance, but they cannot provide the primary police coverage under state law, Buckley said.
Buckley said the resignations were a surprise. He said pay has been an issue. The officers in Arkoma are not part of a union, Buckley said.
"It's never expected that all three officers would resign," Buckley said. "We have responded to the actions the department took. We are covered in the interim."
The median household income in Arkoma in 2020 was $26,852 annually and the poverty rate was 35%, according to census data.
The Arkoma Town Trustees will meet next Tuesday, Oct. 4.
The town will work toward replacing the two officers who left, Buckley said. Guzman and Oliver had been with the department about six months, Buckley said.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Entire Arkoma, Oklahoma police force resigned Wednesday
