The mayor of a small town in Georgia fired the area’s entire police department Wednesday after officers allegedly made “inappropriate comments” about his wife on Facebook, leaving the town without its own police force.
Cohutta Mayor Ron Shinnick recently shut down the Cohutta Police Department, laying off all 10 employees, according to a report from WDEF.
As of Wednesday morning, a sign was posted on the department’s door that said, “The PD has been dissolved, and all personnel have been terminated.”
It is not known whether employees were notified before the sign was posted or when officers arrived to work that morning.
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The move effectively dismantled the town’s entire law enforcement operation, raising questions about leadership, potential retaliation and public safety in the roughly 1,000-person community.
“They’ll get a paycheck. We’re not that way, and I appreciate their service, OK? It is time for a change,” Shinnick said when asked about the decision.
The dispute appears to stem from last month, when officers filed formal complaints against former town clerk Pat Shinnick, the mayor’s wife.
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Pat Shinnick was fired from her position for allegedly creating a “hostile work environment.” According to the officers’ complaints, despite her firing, she was still working and continued to have access to personal information of the town’s 1,000 residents.
After the complaints, Shinnick, Police Chief Greg Fowler and town attorney Brian Rayburn said during a news conference that the situation had been resolved using “open dialogue and good-faith mediation.”
One week later, the entire department was disbanded.
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“This all comes to (a) personal vendetta from the mayor, and I wholeheartedly believe that,” former Sgt. Jeremy May told WRCB-TV. “We took a stand for transparency, and, in result, every one of them has lost their jobs.”
While the town is operating without a police department, the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office said its deputies will take over law enforcement duties.
A town meeting is scheduled for May 8 with topics including reinstating the police department and a request for Mayor Shinnick’s immediate resignation.
Shinnick and the town’s attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
