Georgia Mayor Fires All 10 Police Employees, Cops Believe It’s Because They Complained About His Wife

A small-town Georgia mayor wiped out his entire police department this week — and the fired officers claim it was retaliation for speaking up about his wife.

Cohutta Mayor Ron Shinnick dissolved the Cohutta Police Department and terminated all of its employees the morning of Wednesday, May 6, according to a WDEF report. A notice posted on the department’s door read in part, “The PD has been dissolved, and all personnel have been terminated.”

The mass firing came just weeks after officers accused the mayor’s wife, Pam Shinnick, of continuing to work for the town after council meeting minutes showed she had been terminated. She had previously been let go for allegedly contributing to a “hostile work environment” in the town of fewer than 1,000 residents, per Page Six.

Though the police and the mayor then announced that they had settled their differences in mediation, Former Sgt. Steven Thornton claimed Shinnick wasn’t satisfied.

“It was told to us, this is third hand information, that he told the acting town clerk that he still wanted us all fired, and it would happen,” Thornton told the outlet. “It happened.”

When initially asked about the situation, Shinnick deflected with a joke, telling the outlet, “If you want to report on the low concrete, that’s really a more pressing issue here in Cohutta. Low concrete.”

Pressed on whether officers would be compensated — given they say they received no advance notice — the mayor said, “They’ll get a paycheck. We’re not that way, and I appreciate their service, okay? It is time for a change.”

Shinnick also compared the decision to a coaching shakeup, telling WDEF, “It’s a guy thing. You know, occasionally, college football programs, you have to change the coach, and some people like it, some don’t.”

The Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office has stepped in to assume law enforcement services. Meanwhile, the Cohutta Town Council has scheduled a meeting for Friday, May 8 to discuss reinstating the department and requesting the mayor’s immediate resignation, according to WDEF.