In a dramatic turn of events, a small mountain town in northern Georgia saw its town council enact a new ordinance on Friday, revitalizing the local police department and reinstating officers who had been dismissed just two days prior by the mayor.
The Cohutta Town Council held a special session, drawing an overflowing crowd of residents, journalists, and the officers themselves, as recounted by Shane Kornberg, a council member and the town’s Vice Mayor, speaking to The Associated Press.
According to Kornberg, the officers were promptly rehired and will be compensated with back pay for the time they were out of work.
Earlier in the week, the town, home to roughly 930 individuals, was greeted with a notice declaring the dissolution of its police department, attributed to a decision made by Mayor Ron Shinnick. The notice directed those in need of assistance to contact a nonemergency county line.
This sudden move saw the termination of the police chief and about ten officers by Wednesday morning, though the specific motivations behind the action were not publicly disclosed.
Mayor Shinnick later explained that his decision was influenced by comments made by officers on social media platforms.
The now-former Sgt. Jeremy May said it involved a complaint that he and other officers had raised about the mayor’s wife, Pam Shinnick, who had served as the town clerk.
“This all comes to personal vendetta from the mayor, and I wholeheartedly believe that,” May told WRCB-TV. “We took a stand for transparency, and in result, every one of them has lost their jobs.”
The now-former Cohutta Police Chief Greg Fowler told WRCB that he couldn’t comment in detail as the officers were clearing out the police department and removing equipment from the building this week.
The mayor told the station he’s not sure what will happen next.
Phone calls and emails left Friday for the mayor were not immediately returned.
Kornberg said the town’s attorney, Bryan Rayburn, told the council the officers’ firings hadn’t followed the town charter, which requires 30 days’ notice be given before employees can be suspended or removed.
The council went into executive session to discuss matters of litigation.
When they emerged, the mayor voluntarily didn’t return to the meeting, Kornberg said.
Kornberg, as vice mayor, took over the meeting.
The council then passed the ordinance reinstating the officers and another measure preventing the mayor from firing the officers for the next 30 days.
The council then voted to table “for the foreseeable future” the rest of the meeting’s agenda, which involved removing Shinnick.
When no Cohutta officers were working, the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office had said deputies would help the townspeople if needed.
Cohutta, just south of the Tennessee line, is about 100 miles northwest of Atlanta.
Multiple townspeople said Friday evening they were attempting to livestream the meeting on social media, but weak cell service in the area did not allow them to do so.
