Five Reno police officers are returning from Ukraine early after being pulled from a training mission there. Reno Public Radio's Michelle Bliss reports that the Reno City Council voted this week to bring the officers back because of concerns over safety and limited resources at home.
The officers were sent to the city of Kiev for a partnership between Reno PD and the Department of Justice to help with law enforcement reform in Ukraine. They were scheduled to return at the end of March, but the council voted 4-to-3 to bring them home immediately because of concerns brought forth here by councilwoman Jenny Brekhus:
"The decision from a resource perspective greatly does concern me. I'm having a very difficult time with that. The other thing that concerns me is we did send people to a war-torn country where the situation is uncertain and seems to be evolving every day."
Reno Police Chief Steve Pitts said he'll get his officers to head home as early as Saturday but that building relationships with other countries is important work that his officers value.
"They're kind of excited," Pitts explains. "They feel like they're making a difference in the history of that country."
Other council members voiced concerns over a lack of communication regarding the decision to send local officers on this mission.
