Georgia mayor’s wife accused of creating ‘hostile work environment’ amongst local police. The mayor’s response? He fires everyone

The mayor of a town in Georgia has come under fire for axing the entire police force after they upset his wife. Cohutta Mayor Ron Shinnick made the controversial decision after his wife was accused of creating a “hostile work environment.”

The Cohutta Police Department was shut down when Shinnick fired all 10 of the employees that worked there. His reasoning behind the baffling decision was due to officers previously making “inappropriate comments” about his wife as per the New York Post. A sign hung on the department door on Wednesday read, “The PD has been dissolved, and all personnel have been terminated.”

Speaking about his decision Shinnick said, “They’ll get a paycheck. We’re not that way, and I appreciate their service, okay? It is time for a change.” It’s not clear if the officers were aware prior to Wednesday that they had been fired or if they found out along with everyone else.

Ron Shinnick and the Cohutta PD beef explained

The drama unfolded last month when several officers launched a formal complaint against Pam Shinnick who was the town’s former clerk and wife of Ron Shinnick. She was terminated last year for creating a “hostile work environment.” However, despite being fired from her job she reportedly continued to work for the town and still had access to classified and personal information which she should not have. This is what the recent complaints were relating to.

Following the complaints, Ron Shinnick held a press conference along with Police Chief Gre Fowler claiming that the issue had been resolved through “open dialogue and good-faith mediation.” Shortly after this all the officers were fired.

Is this legal?

With regards to the legality of what Ron Shinnick did, it seems pretty cut and dry. The mayor’s actions seem incredibly shady and it’s hard to imagine there won’t be an investigation. Firing the officers for voicing complaints is an infringement on their free speech. There also doesn’t seem to be any record of the “inappropriate comments” which Shinnick claimed were made online about his wife. 

Officers were also promised that their jobs were not in jeopardy. Sgt Jeremy May stated “This all comes to personal vendetta from the mayor — and I wholeheartedly believe that,” adding, “We took a stand for transparency, and in result, every one of them has lost their jobs.”

If the accusations against Pam Shinnick accessing personal information after being fired are also true then that is also very illegal.

For now the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office will take over policing of Cohutta but there have already been calls for Shinnick’s resignation and talks of reinstating the fire police officers. There are also calls for a third party investigation into the mayor after his drastic decision.