--- description: Reservists can get around gun restrictions elsewhere in the state title: This Town Has 1 Cop for Every 2 Residents image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ba15a1a70c289b1/6987ebb0cd6848e65e09d954/kid-rock.jpg?branch=production ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Town Has 1 Cop for Every 2 Residents by [Josh Sanburn](/author/josh-sanburn/) ## Josh Sanburn Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 17, 2015 5:52 PM CUT  An Oakley police car in Oakley, Mich., on March 14, 2014 . An Oakley police car in Oakley, Mich., on March 14, 2014 .Jeff Schrier—AP by [Josh Sanburn](/author/josh-sanburn/) ## Josh Sanburn Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 17, 2015 5:52 PM CUT A town in Michigan with a population of just 300 has roughly 150 police officers in an alleged “pay-to-play” scheme that allows reserve officers to get around the state’s gun restrictions. The town of Oakley, Mich., has dozens of people apply to become cops in the tiny town, [_The Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/apr/17/oakley-michigan-pay-to-play-police "undefined") reports, among them rapper Kid Rock, a football player for the Miami Dolphins, and various Michigan businessmen. Those accepted to become reserve officers, who pay sums of up to $4,000 to join the force, are then authorized to carry firearms in places that generally ban them, like schools and bars. The Saginaw _News_ [reported](http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2015/02/oakley%5Freleases%5F169%5Fnames%5Fin%5Fr.html "undefined") that the law enforcement agency had raised almost $250,000 from 2008 to 2014. The allegations are part of a lawsuit intended to make the Oakley police force more transparent. A lawyer involved in the case told the _Guardian_ that all the reservists but one live at least 90 minutes drive from the town. Reserve officers have come under scrutiny in recent weeks after the apparent [accidental shooting](http://time.com/3826459/roberts-bates-speaks-today-show/ "undefined") of Eric Harris by Robert Bates, a 73-year-old volunteer deputy in Tulsa, Okla. Harris was shot and killed by Bates, who said he meant to use his Taser instead of his gun. \[[_Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/apr/17/oakley-michigan-pay-to-play-police "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3826881/oakley-michigan-reserve-police-officers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3826881/oakley-michigan-reserve-police-officers/"},"headline":"This Town Has 1 Cop for Every 2 Residents","datePublished":"2015-04-17T17:52:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T06:29:18.796Z","description":"And one of them might be Kid Rock","url":"https://time.com/3826881/oakley-michigan-reserve-police-officers/","keywords":["Crime","police"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ba15a1a70c289b1/6987ebb0cd6848e65e09d954/kid-rock.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Josh Sanburn","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/josh-sanburn/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ba15a1a70c289b1/6987ebb0cd6848e65e09d954/kid-rock.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Kid Rock releases 'First Kiss' album on February 24, 2015.","caption":"Kid Rock releases 'First Kiss' album on February 24, 2015.","creditText":"Jeff Schrier—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3826881/oakley-michigan-reserve-police-officers/","name":"This Town Has 1 Cop for Every 2 Residents"}}]}] ```