Why we need cops

This is yet another 'incident' that happened far too close to my house. This has been happening quite a lot this year; people getting attacked, beaten, shot, you name it. The area is just far enough away that I wouldn't have walked the dogs to it, but I could. Man was beaten and shot, and the suspect was trying to force him into the trunk of the car.

One of the council representatives keeps a number of citizens in the loop for council meetings by emailing the minutes and heated discussions. I receive her emails weekly, and appreciate them. It's really helpful when you don't have the opportunity to go to the meetings. One of the more recent meetings involved a budget surplus, and a number of citizens got upset because we recently passed an emergency tax levy to save three police officers, four firemen, and one service garage person. Granted, the tax levy wasn't specifically dedicated for those purposes, but the town understood that those 8 jobs were going to be eliminated because the city had been spending its surpluses every year without a long term plan. That's what happens when you elect your neighbors, uncles, or buddies to council and as mayor without them having any real qualifications. My husband was one of those whose job was on the line. Despite passing the levy, and despite having greater than expected income every year, the city still got rid of those 8 jobs. Fortunately, the three policemen all found other jobs before losing their positions here. Anyway, citizens are upset because the city now has been receiving plenty of income and has yet to recreate those positions.
But they will sit on their fat asses and whine and complain when there's a shoot-out at the gas station, or people are shot literally on the city's front door. They have cut the police department down to 12 men, plus the chief. With three shifts, seven days a week. I think you can do the math, but just in case: that's four men per shift. The off/on days at that department are 6 on, 2 off. That means if EVERYBODY is at work, that is two people on duty, three if they're lucky. That's not accounting for sick days, vacation, comp time, etc. Yet council wants to cut the departments down to bare bones, and then expects one of those cops to sit on the main street, writing tickets all day long.
WTF?