Sick out down to just two officers

Published 8:08 pm Thursday, August 25, 2016

Only two Selma Police Department officers have not returned to work, according to Police Chief John Brock.

Brock said Thursday that the majority of officers have returned to their normal shifts, following a “sick out” that started Aug. 11 as a demand for higher pay.

“Everybody is back to work, back on their shifts and doing what they were doing prior to this,” Brock said.

Email newsletter signup

Brock said one of the two officers still out was scheduled to return to work Thursday, but called his supervisors Wednesday evening and said he’d be back in Monday. At this point, both officers that haven’t returned to work will be required to have a doctor’s excuse. After five missed days, officers are required to have a note from a doctor.

Even with two officers absent, Brock said everything is back to operating normally at the department.

“I know the supervisors that were working extra work, they are relieved even more than I am,” Brock said. “I was out there too working but they got a break because the officers are doing their jobs, so the supervisors can go back doing their jobs.”

The Selma City Council voted Aug. 18 to give public safety employees a raise Oct. 1, but didn’t outline how much they would be. By then, the majority of the sick out was over.

“I think right now most of them are wanting to know how much they are going to make, what their salaries are going to be,” Brock said.

“They’ve heard it, but they want to see it on paper.”

The police and all other city departments haven’t had a permanent pay raise since 2007. Employees have received bonuses around the holidays the past three years of up to $1,600 for full-time with three years of service with the city.

Brock said all of the officers that have returned are doing their jobs, regardless of how they feel about the current pay situation.

“They are coming to work, so that’s a good thing,” Brock said. “They are doing their job while they’re here, and that’s all I expect them to do.”