Decorah Police Department wants to hire two more officers

The Decorah City Council is being asked to add two more officers to the Decorah Police Department.

The request comes from Police Chief Bill Nixon, who wants to always have two officers on every shift.  Nixon says that's not always the case now, especially when vacation, comp time, training or sick leave affects schedules.  Nixon says sometimes there is only one officer working a shift and "That's not safe for us."

Nixon says "the nature of the job has changed" and offers can't always predict when they will need a back-up.  "It's not a safe situation," he says.

The Decorah Police Department currently has 12 officers, including Nixon.  The Decorah City Council Tuesday afternoon will discuss Nixon's request to increase that number to 14.