Corinth ends police merger with Lake Dallas early

The Corinth Police Department announced this week that it is ending its police merger trial with Lake Dallas much earlier than planned.

The two neighboring cities had been talking for a while about merging their police departments to more efficiently share resources, and they began a one-year trial merger on Sept. 1. Officers from both departments had jurisdiction and responded to incidents in both cities. If all went well, the cities would merge the departments on a more permanent basis.

But last week, about a month-and-a-half into the one-year trial, Corinth City Manager Bob Hart notified Lake Dallas that Corinth would not continue to participate in the interlocal agreement after determining that the proposed merge “is not in the best interest of our residents,” according to a Corinth news release.

“Due to safety and liability risks from inconsistent management and training procedures, the decision was made to terminate the agreement promptly rather than waiting 12 months,” the news release said. “While we look forward to continuing to build strong relationships with our neighboring communities, we ultimately chose to make a decision that was difficult, but, in the eyes of our public safety officials and city management, the smartest choice for our city at this time. The safety and security of Corinth and Shady Shores residents and police officers is always our first priority.”

Corinth still values collaboration with neighboring cities and will continue to assist Lake Dallas when needed, as it has before.