The town council of Cohutta, a small mountain community in Georgia, held an emergency meeting on Friday evening to vote on reinstating the police department after Mayor Ron Shinnick fired the police chief and all officers earlier in the week.
The meeting notice, posted outside the town hall, indicated that the council would also consider a request for the mayor's immediate resignation. However, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, any action against the mayor was tabled. The council approved a second emergency ordinance prohibiting the mayor from disbanding the police department for the next 30 days.
Ken David, a lawyer representing several police officers, expressed satisfaction, saying, "Glad the City Council did the right thing tonight." City Attorney Bryan Rayburn stated that the mayor's actions did not comply with the town charter's policies and procedures.
Following Rayburn's remarks, Mayor Shinnick voluntarily left the meeting, and Vice-Mayor Shane Kornberg assumed the role of mayor for the remainder of the session. Kornberg stated that he did not believe the police department had been legally disbanded. The council voted unanimously to reinstate the officers.
"What we know is we had to make the best decision for the town," Kornberg said. "We needed to reinstate the police department because our charter was not followed."
Earlier in the week, a sign posted in the town of about 930 people announced that the police department had been dissolved "per mayor Ron Shinnick," directing residents to call a non-emergency county number for help. The chief and approximately 10 officers had their jobs terminated as of Wednesday morning. The exact reasons for the firings have not been publicly disclosed, and residents hoped for answers at Friday's meeting.
Mayor Shinnick claimed he took action due to comments officers posted on social media. Former police sergeant Jeremy May said the issue involved a complaint he and other officers raised about the mayor's wife, Pam Shinnick, who served as town clerk. "This all comes to personal vendetta from the mayor, and I wholeheartedly believe that," May told local news outlet WRCB. "We took a stand for transparency, and in result, every one of them has lost their jobs."
Former police chief Greg Fowler told WRCB that he could not comment in detail as officers were clearing out the department and removing equipment. The mayor indicated he was unsure what would happen next.
Cohutta, located just south of the Tennessee state line, is approximately 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Atlanta.
