Newburgh Heights police will drop from six patrol officers to five on Nov. 17 after an officer submitted a two-week notice, leaving Chief John Majoy to describe his department’s staffing as a “catastrophic low” — the worst he has seen in 13 years running the force.
The looming reduction comes as the small Cuyahoga County suburb’s police department already runs lean. As cleveland.com reports, one of the department’s three sergeants has been on medical leave and isn’t expected back until at least Jan. 1, 2027, stretching an already thin command structure even further.
Majoy told Village Council that the hiring pipeline is effectively empty. “We have no candidates in the pool. We have no applications pending,” he said, according to the outlet. The chief said the department has rejected 27 candidates over background issues and five more because they lacked certification, while another 25 prospective applicants picked up application packets but never turned them in. Two other applicants took jobs elsewhere, and one current Newburgh Heights officer is now in the hiring process at another agency, per the same report.
Overtime Hours Rise by 100 in a Month
The staffing crunch is already showing up in the budget. The department logged 152 overtime hours in September and 252 in October, the station’s report notes, and projects needing 272 hours in November and 296 in December. Those projections only account for keeping two officers on duty per shift, the department’s stated per-shift minimum, and do not include additional coverage that might be needed for sick leave, vacation, or personal time…