OXFORD, PA—Residents have publicly called for local elected officials to protect Oxford Borough’s 100-year-old police force.

And still, by legislative majority, Oxford council members voted 5-2 on Monday evening to disband the community’s local law enforcement department, established in 1926.

“They might have won this battle,” said John Rogers of East Nottingham. “The war’s not over.”

He began the popular Save Oxford Police movement that has taken flight in the borough, especially among concerned residents, first responders and business owners.

Council President Kathryn Cloyd, Vice-President Bill Fitzpatrick, and members Michael Brandt, Melody Boston-Griffin and Robert Ketcham voted “yes” as the crowd shouted out in protest voicing a collective sense of opposition that reverberated through the auditorium.

Council members Raul Juarez-Lara and Amanda Birdwell both voted “no.”

“I’m here for the people, I’m here to represent the people,” Juarez-Lara said.

Birdwell told the public that she was voting against disbanding the police for regionalizing with Southern Chester County Regional Department, based in New Garden around 16 miles away, because she was alarmed by the extreme effort to push this objective through; and in wake of outcry from the public.

Cloyd asked the police to escort multiple people from the meeting who were protesting against the disbanding of the Oxford Borough Police Department, which employs approximately 16 officers.

During public comment, the council president refused to allow Oxford Police Officer Scott Richards to speak. One woman cried out: “Let him speak!” to no avail.

The council members and mayor were escorted out via police. During the last few weeks, this has become a new trend in a rather low-key, tight-knit and generational conservative historic borough with deep routes to commerce and trade since before the American Revolution.

Established in 1926, the department is located in the heart of the community. The station flanks two major corridors, which meet in Oxford. These primary east-west roads Third Street, aka Route 10, and Market Street, aka Route 472, cross at 2 S. 3rd St., the site of the historic Octorara Hotel & Tavern, a well-known transit convergence meeting place in America for centuries.

Oxford’s population estimate fluctuates between 5,2485 and just under 6,000. While some projections are closer to 5,920 residents. The U.S. Census Bureau recorded 5,733 residents in 2020.

On Monday evening many residents as well as firefighters, local and regional police officers, and neighbors of Oxford expressed feelings frustration during the council meeting, held at Penn’s Grove on Fifth Street.

“The key takeaway is it’s a highly emotional and charged event,” said Oxford Mayor Philip Harris. “This is a big thing after a century of policing. It’s a difficult decision.”

The mayor said by pursuing a partnership with Southern Chester County’s regional force, composed of New Garden, West Grove with contracted services provided to Avondale, will ensure that Oxford continues to have 24-hour policing. He said the community wouldn’t need to keep the police station however, though he didn’t disclose if the plan is to sell the property. He said it was too big of a space to become the borough’s substation, where two officers from New Garden will be stationed.

“The foundation of small town America was built on the backs of small, local police departments,” said Jeff Sanders, a U.S. Marine who lost a limb while serving in Iraq, after last month’s 6-1 vote to “explore” realization with Southern Chester County’s force.

“Do people move into small towns with high crime rates?” Sanders asked. “Or do they choose a safe place to raise their family?”

“I really think that they made a mistake in giving up local control,” said Bob McCarron, the president of the Chester County Fraternal Order of Police. He has spoken out repeatedly in support of the council opting to invest in, rather than disband, the borough’s 100-year-old law enforcement force.

He added, “We believe in regionalization if done correctly. We’re here to protect the jobs of the officers of the Oxford Borough Police Department.”

Currently, the future of those officers remain unknown.

Next up, West Grove and New Garden boards must vote to allow Oxford to become a voting member of the Southern Chester County Regional Police Department.

Chief Chief Joseph Greenwalt is slated to speak in Oxford on Thursday.

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