WATCH: Clerk hopes more officers create safer environement

new fallout tonight on a story we have been covering for months.. police staffing in pueblo. a store clerk tells us he’s seeing more violent burglaires now than ever before. this comes as we first told you last night, two more officers resigned. krdo newschannel 13’s greg miller is live tonight at police headquarters, ..with new information. heather -that clerk hopes the chief’s promise comes true – that more officers will help speed up response times. but there’s a new challenge to that goal. 1:07 95 percent of them when you approach them, their first things is ‘you can’t touch me’ this store clerk didn’t want to go on camera – fearing showing his face could put his job at risk. 1:12 they know, threatening the cops have been called, they laugh at you. it’s like, i’ll be gone by the time they get here. he says these crimes are the worst he’s ever seen and started to pick up about 18 months ago. 0:41 the word has gotten out that you can commit a crime and get out before the police department can respond. last year there were more than fifteen- hundred burglaries in pueblo – from gun stores to banks. many of them caught on surveillance – like this september breakin of a captain d’s. 1:55 if they had more officers on the force, on the street. the quicker response time, there’s definitely going to be quicker response time. standup: the chief of police has said reducing the number of burglaries in pueblo will be easier with a larger police force. though getting more officers on board, just got tougher. 6:09 now it’s literally a crisis point. of the 13 officer recruits who graduated from the police academy in december – four already resigned. chief luis velez says the reasons ranged from fear and discomfrot of the job. disconcertin g to those who depend on higher staffing 4:52 a lot of them feel it’s a victimless crime that nobody’s gonna pay for it. either the consumer pays for it, or they close the businesses down and lose their job. as they hope to do their jobs safely. there is a police academy underway with seven recruits right now another one slated for this fall. live in pueb, gm,n c 13. new information