A group of Selma Police Department patrol officers called in sick Saturday morning as they continue a stand for pay raises.

Selma Police Chief John Brock said four officers called in sick Saturday before the morning shift, and he expects those in the night shift to do the same.  This is the third straight day officers have called in.

“The night shift hasn’t called in yet, but I expect that they will,” Brock said.

The officers calling in sick Saturday are different than the ones who called in sick Thursday and Friday. Brock said Friday that officers typically work two days are off two days, so this is a new group.

Brock said he has not heard from the officers or anyone representing the officers.

“I have not spoken to anybody,” Brock said.

Brock said Friday that officers must have a doctor’s excuse after their fifth sick day is used, but he said that leaves a 10-day window for officers to miss work due to the department’s work schedules.

Brock said he was out on patrol Saturday morning following a fairly quiet Friday night in Selma.

“We had several instances last night but nothing major,” Brock said.

Selma Mayor George Evans said he doesn’t understand why the officers haven’t returned to work. Officers met with Evans and Selma City Council members in a closed meeting that lasted more than three hours Thursday afternoon. Officers said afterward there were no guarantees or conclusion.

Evans said he asked that the attorney for the officers put all of the group’s concerns in writing so that the city could respond. As of Saturday morning, the city had not received that information, Evans said.

“We basically said in that meeting 80 percent of the things they talked about we were not aware of we were going to address,” Evans said. “The salary thing, in terms of a raise, is being worked on already. I know that over the years we’ve always said we wanted to give them a raise, but the money was not there. We couldn’t do it even though we wanted to. This year, based off some things we’ve done, we should be able to give our police officers and all of our employees a raise within this fiscal year.”

Evans said he thought officers would be back at work on Friday morning. Instead, officers have now missed work for three straight days.

“I don’t understand now why they are still holding out and putting the citizens at risk,” Evans said. “We are already short of police officers and for them to take off like this, it really concerns me that they would take an oath and then still do this after we’re trying to work through it to benefit them and all of our employees.”

Brock said Friday that he was not anticipating needing any extra patrol this weekend. Other agencies, including the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department and the Alabama Law Enforcement Association, have offered help if needed.

“Even though we have backup officers coming in working these shifts in reality we never have enough police officers,” Evans said. “Even the ones we had are not enough. When we have to downsize like this, it even makes it worse.”

Before Thursday’s meeting, officer Michael Kiser read a prepared statement that addressed comments about the timing of the move, now 10 days ahead of the city’s municipal election.

“We the members of the Selma Police Department would like to say we love and care about the citizens of Selma. Our first priority is the safety of this community. Any statements or assertions this is only about the money and this is only about an election are absolutely false,” Kiser said.

Kiser said officers are concerned about the safety of the community, fair pay, a safe working environment, needed equipment upgrades, fair promotions and hiring, professionalism and the chain of command, among other issues.

“Everything that was discussed is things we need to maintain a quality of life and survive here in Selma just like all other citizens,” said officer Marqueis Neely.

Evans believes the move does involve politics, especially with it being so close to the election.

“I’m not going to say everybody who is doing this is a part of that but … there are some politics here that are being brought up at this time before an election to create an atmosphere where they can get me out and somebody else in,” Evans said.

Officers have repeatedly said they aren’t on strike but won’t say when they will report back to work.

The hourly wage of the highest paid patrol office is $15.70 per hour, while the lowest makes the minimum of $12.90 per hour.

The last permanent pay increases for officers were in 2007. Since then, officers as well as all city employees have received one-time bonuses each year around Christmas. Full-time employees with three years of experience with the city have been given $1,600 bonuses. Those with shorter tenures have been given less.