Georgia mayor who fired town’s entire police force resigns, citing family ‘health concerns’

The mayor of a small town in the US state of Georgia has resigned shortly after firing his community’s entire police department, a step that the local governing council ultimately reversed – but that he nonetheless took amid a political spat pitting him and his wife against members of the force.

In a 15 May resignation letter that the Guardian reviewed, Ron Shinnick avoided mentioning his attempted termination of the Cohutta police department, word of which gained international media attention. The letter instead said Shinnick had opted to vacate the mayoral post he had held since 2014 due to “health concerns” faced by family members outside Cohutta.

“This decision was not made lightly,” Shinnick wrote in his resignation letter, to which he assigned immediate effect. “But I believe it is in the best interest of both the town and myself at this time.”

Shinnick, 70, had dismissed Cohutta’s police chief and 10 officers by 6 May. A sign posted in the town of roughly 930 people announced the dissolution of its police department and advised anyone in need of help to call a non-emergency county government telephone number.

Later, Shinnick said he acted against the police department over some comments that officers made on social media. A police sergeant maintained the matter involved a complaint officers had raised about Shinnick’s wife, Pam, who had served as the town’s clerk before being fired in January.

The local news outlet WTVC reported that Pam Shinnick had grappled with accusations of fostering a hostile work environment. A formal complaint also purported that she retained access to payroll systems and other sensitive data – including officers’ personal information – despite her firing.

Cohutta’s town council held an emergency meeting on 8 May at which members voted to reinstate the police department. Prior to the vote, the town attorney, Bryan Rayburn, had maintained that Ron Shinnick’s actions with respect to the local police force “did not follow the policies and procedures” of Cohutta’s governing charter.

The council had also indicated it would consider demanding Ron Shinnick’s immediate resignation, though the panel ultimately did not do that.

Shinnick’s eventual resignation letter called his being Cohutta mayor one of his life’s “great honors”. The missive touted new businesses, improved public services and more inclusivity in Cohutta. “I am confident that the town will continue to thrive under new leadership,” Shinnick wrote. “I will do everything to ensure a smooth and orderly transition in the coming weeks.”

The former mayor did not immediately respond to a message seeking additional comment.

A notice on Cohutta’s government website said the town council would detail plans and a selection process for an interim mayor at a Wednesday meeting.

Cohutta is just south of the Tennessee state line – about 100 miles (160km) north-west of Atlanta.