LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Over the past few years, there has been a crackdown on policing nationwide.
Analyzing things like the use of force, training methods, racial disparities and body camera regulations.
The issues revealed in policing then added to issues with recruiting police for agencies.
Now, years down the line— officers everywhere are feeling the strain— and the smaller departments might not be able to afford it. This is one of the reasons why smaller towns, like Haskell, are struggling to keep their department doors open.
On Tuesday, most of the Haskell police department walked out, quitting over funding disputes with the mayor.
"Y'all can find someone else to patrol the city," One officer said to the city board.
But on top of restricted use for their new grant, Haskell Mayor Clyde Crookham said the tax money just isn't there.
"We're kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place because we don't have the money and people's not spending the money," Crookham said. "We don't have the revenue."
Some similar-sized police departments, like Alexander, said they feel for the Haskell officers because they were in a similar spot a few months ago.
"You're already putting your life on the line," Alexander Police Lt. Jessica Burnett said. "You already have big risks and big struggles. You don't need to worry about failing equipment."
Burnett said the funding from a recently approved grant should keep the police department afloat for the next few years, but said with inflation and limited tax revenue, they've already lost officers to bigger and higher paying departments.
"We had several leave to go to Capitol Police," Burnett said. "We had one that left to go be an instructor... you go from having a department with large combined years of experience to a department that is very immature and growing."
The strain on police departments is also impacting small cities such as Eudora, where a few weeks ago a curfew was put in place as officers struggled to control local crime.
Eudora Mayor Tomeka Butler discussed the issue back in December.
"This action was taken to protect every family in the city. No matter race, age, or where you live," Butler said. "Families all over are hurting from these senseless acts. Our elderly, my people of wisdom, they are afraid."
And while some of the smaller police departments we spoke to said they're not seeing these issues, others are already looking to hire the police officers from Haskell— and worried about future call times.
"If you don't have those officers, you're gonna have slower response times," Burnett said. "You're gonna have more crime increased with less patrolling."
Saline County and Arkansas State Police are working to help Haskell as well as provide backup.