In a dramatic turn of events, the mayor of Cohutta, a small town in Georgia, has dismantled the entire police department. This decision comes in the wake of allegations that the police force had upset his wife, who had previously faced accusations of fostering a “hostile work environment.”
Mayor Ron Shinnick made the bold move to disband the Cohutta Police Department, terminating all 10 of its employees after it was alleged that officers had posted “inappropriate comments” about his wife on Facebook, according to a report by WDEF.
On Wednesday morning, a stark notice was displayed on the police department’s door, stating, “The PD has been dissolved, and all personnel have been terminated.” This abrupt announcement raised questions about whether the officers were notified beforehand or learned about their dismissal upon arriving for work.
Despite the controversy, Mayor Shinnick assured that, “They’ll get a paycheck. We’re not that way, and I appreciate their service, okay? It is time for a change,” indicating that the decision was final yet acknowledging the officers’ past contributions.
The situation escalated late last month when several officers formally complained about Pam Shinnick, the former town clerk and the mayor’s wife. She was reportedly still involved in town affairs even after her dismissal, which fueled discontent among the police personnel.
The petty saga erupted late last month when several officers lodged formal complaints about the town’s former clerk, Pam Shinnick — who is also the mayor’s wife — continuing to work for the town despite having been fired.
She was terminated last year for apparently creating a “hostile work environment” in the town of less than 1,000 people — but allegedly still had access to personal and classified information.
In the wake of the formal complaints, the mayor held a joint press conference with Police Chief Greg Fowler and town attorney Brian Rayburn to say they’d managed to resolve the dispute through “open dialogue and good faith mediation.”
But roughly a week later, the cops were all fired anyway.
“This all comes to personal vendetta from the mayor — and I wholeheartedly believe that,” said one of the gutted officers, Sgt. Jeremy May, adding they’d been assured their jobs weren’t in jeopardy for lodging complaints about the mayor’s wife.
“Official response from the town attorney: Nobody’s jobs are in jeopardy,” May said. “Here we are, less than a week later, nobody has a job.”
“We took a stand for transparency, and in result, every one of them has lost their jobs,” he added.
The mayor, for his part, blamed the conflict on “inappropriate comments” posted on Facebook by the officers.
It wasn’t immediately clear what comments he was referring to.
For now, the fired officers have been ordered to return all department equipment.
The Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office is now set to take over policing for the small town.
