Police Department Evicted From Township Hall

SHARON TOWNSHIP—Imagine living in your home for decades only to be kicked out by someone else.

It’s a scenario happening in Central Ohio, but it’s not a family that’s being affected—it’s an entire township, NBC 4‘s Tacoma Newsome reported.

Sharon Memorial Hall is owned and operated by the Sharon Memorial Board and for the past 33 years, it’s been the home of the Sharon Township Police Department. But that will soon change.

“The president of our trustees received an email from the memorial board stating that they wanted us to voluntarily vacate this building by April 10 or they would start eviction notices,“ said Chief Donald Schwind, of Sharon Township police.

According to board members, the reason for eviction is two-fold: money and safety.

The hall is a very old but nice building and is included on the National Historic Registry, Newsome reported.

Schwind said the department never had a problem with paying more money to remain in the hall, but the parties couldn’t agree on how much.

The township occupies less than half of the total building and hall board members didn’t want police to bring suspects into the hall, handcuffing them to desks while officers completed paperwork, saying it was unsafe for the community.

“In 33 years, there’s not been one person that’s been hurt or harmed … because of bringing people here,“ Schwind said.

He said the force needs more space anyway and with ten full-time and five part-time officers, the search for a new location just became a little more urgent.

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