Entire police department resigns in Minnesota city, leaves mayor ‘blindsided’: 'Zero applicants'

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Goodhue, Minnesota, a small city in the southeastern part of the state, lost its entire police force after the chief and other members of the department handed in their resignation.

"I think we're all a little bit blindsided by it, but we're resilient, and we're going to move forward," Goodhue Mayor Ellen Anderson Buck told Fox 9.

"I want to reiterate that we will have police coverage in the city of Goodhue," Buck said. "That is not an issue."

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Goodhue, Minnesota, a small city in the southeastern part of the state, lost its entire police force after the chief and other members of the department handed in their resignation. (Aimee Dilger/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Police Chief Josh Smith, who will continue to serve in his position until Aug. 24, told city officials that he could not find anyone to sign up to join the police force. 

"This has been three weeks now, we have zero applicants, and I have zero prospects," Smith said on July 26. "I’ve called every PD around for the youngest guys out there, getting into the game. There's nobody getting into the game."

"If you want to keep the PD and this is something we want to continue going with, something needs to change dramatically and drastically, and it's got to happen now."

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One Goodhue City Council member, Chris Schmit, praised the police force for maintaining law and order in the city.

"I can probably speak for everyone when I say that they provided excellent safety and security to our community. And the small town policing that they did, we want that back."

Smith also told the Goodhue City Council that the police force was losing on recruitment numbers because of low pay and competition from larger communities.

Smith also told the Goodhue City Council that the police force was losing on recruitment numbers because of low pay and competition from larger communities. (iStock)

The largest city in Minnesota, Minneapolis, is the site of one of the most important policing stories of the last decade.

The last ex-Minneapolis police officer to be convicted in the 2020 death of George Floyd received a sentence of four years and nine months on Aug. 7. Before the sentencing was decided, Tou Thao took time to talk about Jesus, recalling how while "distressed" in prison over the "false narratives" surrounding the case, he was reading the Bible.

The Goodhue Police Department, the mayor and members of the city council did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

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Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.