Canton resident Kathy Crow, 52, passed away Wednesday while on a family trip in the Texas Hill County.

EDGEWOOD — Mike Crawford, owner of Edgewood Drug Store, understands how important the Edgewood Police Department is to his business.

He was among the standing room only crowd Monday morning at an Edgewood City Council meeting to speak in support of keeping the department operating next budget year.

His motive was plainly visible to anyone entering the store that same day: a smashed glass pane, the result of an attempted break-in during the early morning hours Monday.

Crawford said he had nothing but praise for the Edgewood Police Department and its swift handling of previous burglaries or attempted break-ins at the store.

"They have acted quickly and been very professional. Out of the burglaries we’ve had here since I’ve owned the store, there have been three separate cases where the Edgewood police quickly caught the people who did it," he said.

"That is a pretty rare phenomenon," he added.

His wife Tami, a pharmacist at the store, agreed.

"I don’t think people realize how hard it is to solve a pharmacy break-in. I know, having worked at pharmacies all over Northeast Texas," she said.

Mike Crawford and about 60-plus other Edgewood citizens fired questions at Edgewood Mayor Charlie Prater and city council members as to why they would consider dissolving the local police department.

"We need to keep our police department in Edgewood," Crawford said at the meeting. "There are some very bad people out there."

The department was placed on paid leave July 24 through Monday by Prater, citing the need for the council to have a chance to consider the future of the department and wanting to avoid a total walkout by officers.

However, the decision did not sit well with many citizens, some of whom heavily criticized the move to leave public law enforcement for those four days in the hands of the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office.

Tammy Graham, who owns and operates Graham Produce on Highway 80 in Edgewood, said the police department is needed to keep law and order along the heavily traveled highway.

"We (business owners) need the police department’s support…I see some of the shady characters who come through town on the highway," Graham said.

After the meeting, she said she was unhappy with the temporary shutdown of the department over the weekend.

"I felt like the mayor didn’t give the citizens of Edgewood or the police department any respect. We’ve got to have our police department here," Graham said.

Resident Betty Cotton agreed, saying, "I support our police officers and stand behind them as much as I can."

Although he took a lot of emotionally charged criticism Monday, Prater said he was glad to see "the political process work the way it is supposed to work."

"There definitely was a lot of public support for the police department. I think the council listened to that and took it under advisement, and I think it will influence their decision a lot," Prater said.

He also said he felt it was better to put the issue out as a specific agenda item rather than addressing it within the broader scope of a budget workshop.

"You could second guess a lot of different things on the way it was done," Prater said, "but it was good to get it out in front of the public."

Edgewood Police Chief Henry Askew said the public support at the meeting touched him and the department’s officers.

"I think the good thing that came out of the meeting was the unity the city showed. We have people who depend on the fact that we serve here," Askew said.

"As a department administrator, I was pleased with the public support, and as a police officer I was pleased," he added.

"A lot of citizens stood up for the department, so apparently we are doing something right that people like," Askew said. "It reaffirms the officers are doing what they should and that (show of support) is something that will stay with us the rest of our lives."