Police give patrol cars to civilians, hilarity immediately ensues

It’s hard to understand why this brilliant idea didn’t work out.

According to WIBW News, citizens of Valley Falls, Kansas, are furious about what they’re calling misconduct by auxiliary police and by the council members who okayed it.

The residents held  a community meeting this week to blast council for giving auxiliary police members, who are not police officers, permission to patrol the streets in police cruisers.

Council said at the time that the intention of having civilians on patrol was to make kids feel comfortable with hanging out downtown.

Instead, citizens say, “total mayhem” ensued.

They reported seeing teenagers drag-racing and speeding up and down the city’s main street, sirens and flashing lights being turned on and off, airhorns blowing — even one auxiliary officer driving around with a young girl in his lap.

“He floored it and he gunned it at maximum speed,” said resident Lee Kahn, who witnessed the incident. “I assumed it was a police officer so I came in to City Hall to file a written complaint, only to find out it wasn’t even a police officer driving the car, it was a civilian.”

Valley Falls residents say the situation was out of control and that the police officers who are trained to respond to such situations were instead at the office,filling out paperwork.  No arrests, citations or tickets were given out Saturday night.

“We pay officers to do their job. I don’t think people who aren’t qualified should be doing something like that,” resident Pat Reyley said.

Residents say the auxiliary program test run did nothing but encourage reckless behavior in the town’s youth. Council agreed, and decided at the Wednesday meeting to disband the auxiliary “for the time being,” WIBW reported.

WIBW also said they received information from an “anonymous source” that the mayor planned to fire the chief of police over the incident, but decided against it and reappointed him instead.