(Daily Mail) The entire staff of a small North Carolina police department has suddenly resigned, citing a ‘hostile’ work environment created by the town’s newly elected manager.
The mass exodus transpired Wednesday, and saw five cops, including the force’s chief of 20 years, hand in resignation letters to the town manager and city council.
The maneuver left the town of Kenly, home to about 2,000 residents, with just three part-time officers to man the waning force.
Even before the resignations, the department had been short-staffed, down from a norm of eight officers to five, the cops said – one of several complaints aired in the letter.
They were joined by two town clerks who also accused the new manager, a progressive black woman who unsuccessfully sued her previous employer for gender and racial discrimination.
Those accusations came after she had been terminated, and her suit was subsequently dismissed.
The manager, Justine Jones, was hired last month – nearly eight years after her firing – an acquisition the town touted in a press release at the time.
Kenly Police Chief Josh Gibson, however, did not share such enthusiasm Wednesday, when he and the six other city workers penned strongly worded letters to Jones giving their two-week notices.
‘In my 21 years at the Kenly Police Department we have seen ups and downs,’ Gibson wrote, addressing the note to both Jones and the town’s city council.
‘But, especially in the last three years, we have made substantial progress that we had hoped to continue.’
He went on: ‘However, due to the hostile work environment now present in the Town of Kenly, I do not believe progress is possible.
‘I am thankful to this community for having me as the longest running chief in Johnston County. I will truly miss them.’
Shortly after sending the note, Gibson shared his plans to leave the force on Facebook, saying that he did not know what was in store next for him after he leaves his longtime post in early August.
‘I have put in my 2 weeks notice along with the whole police dept. with the town of Kenly after 21 years of service,’ he wrote.
‘The new manager has created an environment I do not feel we can perform our duties and services to the community. I do not know what is next for me. I am letting the lord lead the way.’
‘I have loved this community,’ he continued, ‘It has become family and one of my greatest honors to serve. God bless you all.’
The post saw Gibson tag county clerks Christy Thomas and Sharon Evans, who said in their letters that were leaving their respective posts because they cannot work with the stress that Jones brings.
Neither the clerks nor the five officers specified what stress or hostility they were referring to, but Gibson did tell ABC11 that he was frustrated that the department was understaffed and that it added to the officers’ and workers’ stress.
He said: ‘It was just a lot of stress on a lot of us trying to maintain and keep coverage.
‘This is heartbreaking. The community has always been so tremendously so supportive of us.’
The other officers, Austin Hills, Jason Tedder, G.W. Strong, Darren K. Pate, all echoed their superior’s statements, saying they were fed up with the work environment created by Jones since her taking office less than two months ago.
Gibson has said he would consider returning to the police force if Jones was removed from her position.
Jones, when contacted by a local outlet, declined to comment on the schism – which took the town’s close-knit citizens by complete surprise – saying she was ‘not at liberty to talk because of a personnel matter.’
Jones, a middle-aged black woman, sued her previous employer – Richland County, South Carolina – for gender and racial discrimination after her firing. The suit says she worked as manager of research and was an assistant director.
During her tenure with the county, she alleged ‘hostile’ treatment by and retaliation for reporting bad behavior by other city workers and that she was not paid fairly and was treated differently due to illness. The suit did not specify what illness she was referring to.
