Selma Police Chief John Brock said Thursday that only two officers have not returned to work following a “sick out” for pay raises.

We’re glad to see the officers back at work, despite not yet getting the raises they were seeking. We’ve always been clear on our stance on the pay raises — our police officers deserve to be paid better and it needs to happen sooner than later.

At the same time, the officers should’ve never held this “sick out.” Given the timing of the move, it was always going to have ties to politics, regardless of whether the officers really wanted it to or not.

With that said, the pressure is now on the Selma City Council. The council voted to approve a raise and Mayor George Evans has also promised raises are coming for all city employees.

Brock said Thursday that he had no doubt that a raise is coming, although he’s not sure how all the numbers will work out yet.

We’re glad to hear that, but we’re sure the officers — and all other city employees — will believe it when they see it. The clock is ticking toward Oct. 1 very quickly, with only two regularly scheduled council meetings set up before then.

We’re glad to see the majority of the officers back to work and hope the two that haven’t come back in yet will do so soon.

Now the ball is in the city’s court. Hopefully, the men and women of our police force get the raise they are looking for soon. They certainly deserve it.