The town council of Cohutta, a small mountain community in Georgia, held an emergency meeting on Friday evening to vote to reinstate the police department after the mayor fired the chief and all officers. The decision came after Mayor Ron Shinnick dissolved the department, citing comments officers posted on social media.
During the meeting, Mayor Shinnick voluntarily left, and Vice-Mayor Shane Kornberg assumed the role of mayor. The council unanimously approved an ordinance to reinstate the officers, with Kornberg stating that the police department had not been legally disbanded and that the town's charter was not followed.
The mayor's actions terminated the jobs of the chief and about 10 officers as of Wednesday morning. The exact reasons have not been publicly shared, but former police sergeant Jeremy May said it stemmed from a complaint about the mayor's wife, Pam Shinnick, who served as town clerk. May described the firings as a 'personal vendetta'.
The town council also approved a second emergency ordinance prohibiting the mayor from disbanding the police department for the next 30 days. City attorney Bryan Rayburn noted that the mayor's actions did not follow the town charter's policies and procedures.
