Some Gary Residents Embarrassed By Condition Of Police Vehicles

(CBS) -- Police officers in Gary are leaving for greener pastures because of low wages and shoddy equipment and some residents say the condition of the police cars in the city is embarrassing.

There's a picture of one in particular that's being reposted on Facebook. It's got rust and patchy spots, dents, and balding tires.

The radio barely works, it's got over 116,000 miles on it, no air conditioning, and the passenger side window gets stuck when you try to roll it up.

Mayor Karen Freeman Wilson says they are working on it.

"We can't just give them a raise with the waive of a hand," Freeman-Wilson said.

Denise Cather's fiance was a Gary police officer who was shot and killed in his patrol car in July of last year, just days before their wedding.

She says she's angry at the mayor and the way the city treats its officers.

"How she doesn't expect them to hang their heads when they are driving around cars like that or even like fire men," Cather said. "They duct tape their hoses together."

Freeman-Wilson says they know their officers deserve a raise, they are just trying to find the money.