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The fuel that powers a police department is trust.
It's a symbiotic flow. The people trust the police to keep them safe. The police trust the people to call when they need help. The prosecutors trust the police to provide accurate information. The police trust the court to finish the job.
Pull one cog out of that machine, and the whole thing can sputter.
That trust is showing strains in Springdale.
In April, William "Danny" Rosenmund attended a borough council meeting. He was taken to the floor and handcuffed when police said he exceeded an allotted three-minute speaking time.
But last week, the Allegheny County District Attorney's office dropped the charges -- resisting arrest and assault on a police officer.
"After a thorough review of the evidence, the Commonwealth was unable to proceed," Laurie Delaney, executive assistant to District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr., told TribLive in an email.
Video showed Rosenmund hadn't hit his time limit when police approached him.
The process of filing charges requires the police to represent that the account is factual and accurate. The evidence will be reviewed repeatedly over the span of a criminal case. The prosecutors will appraise it. It will be presented to the judge and the jury.
And in this case, the evidence didn't stand up. The DA stepped away.
This isn't unheard of. The adversarial nature of the court process should stress-test testimony and evidence.
What is concerning is that it's not exactly a solitary incident.
Rosenmund was not speaking for the first time when he was arrested. He wasn't alone in pushing the borough for information about controversial issues in recent months, including an agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
That agreement was signed without public discussion in November, leading to questions about government transparency.
Now the Allegheny County Public Defender's Office is in the unusual position of lauding the prosecution's actions.
"They unambiguously made the right call," Chief Public Defender Andy Howard said in a statement.
But for Springdale, he had harsher words, calling it "a problematic police department."
While Rosenmund is considering next steps, he isn't the only one considering what to do next. A Change.org petition is collecting support for removal of Springdale police Chief Derek Dayoub.
"Our demands are clear: We need a leader who respects all community members, upholds the law with integrity and fosters an environment of trust and transparency. The end of police Chief Derek Dayoub's contract is imperative for the healing and rebuilding of our community's trust in law enforcement and council," it reads.
A petition is not binding. It's not a law. But it is the voice of everyone who signs it. At this point, that's about 200 people, and it's only been up for three days.
Unlike Rosenmund, the petition can't be tackled to the ground. It is out there, speaking up, whether Springdale council chooses to listen or not.
But what council members should be paying attention to is that in the past week, the district attorney's office, the public defenders and a large number of individuals have all expressed a lack of trust in what they hear from Springdale police.
Without trust, how can the police do their job?