Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay admits there are always things the police department can work to do better. He says his profession is always evolving and that "Wichita Cops" want to be the best they can be, and predicts that there will be changes made over the next few years, that will provide better help for people in need.
"You shouldn't have to call 911 if you find a homeless person sleeping in your stairwell," Ramsay said. "There should be some services for that. If someone is suffering from mental or chemical addiction, drug dependency, there should be treatment available for them," he added.
Appearing Tuesday on The Drive, with Bob and Jeff on Sports Radio KFH, Chief Ramsay said he hopes there can be funding for programs to help social ills, so that police won't have to the first line for those kinds of problems.
In light of national calls to defund police, Chief Ramsay says his officer’s recognize that the majority of people support them and the role they play in keeping the community safe.
However, he points out that there have been several recent incidents that put officers in harm’s way.
"Officers were taking bottles, they were shot at," Ramsay said. "Not only was that tough on our officers, but their families as well," he added.
Chief Ramsay said that it has never been more tense than this, in his twenty-seven years in policing, as far as how it has impacted the families of police officers.
He says officers are doing good things every day. Helping people, taking people off the street who are victimizing others. But, he acknowledges some in the public don't want to see it that way.