Cohutta Mayor Resigns After Dissolving 10-Officer Police Force in 800-Person Town
Updated
Updated · Police News · May 20
Cohutta Mayor Resigns After Dissolving 10-Officer Police Force in 800-Person Town
14 articles · Updated · Police News · May 20
Ron Shinnick submitted a written resignation Friday, ending his 12-year tenure as mayor of Cohutta, Georgia, after weeks of turmoil at Town Hall.
The crisis grew from an April 21 open letter signed by six police employees and a former jailer accusing town clerk Pam Shinnick—the mayor’s wife—of creating a hostile work environment.
On May 6, Shinnick dissolved the entire police department without advance notice to at least one council member, shifting law-enforcement duties to the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office.
Cohutta’s council reinstated the department at an emergency meeting on May 8, then declined to take further action at its May 12 regular meeting as public criticism mounted.
Town leaders now plan to choose an interim mayor, with another emergency council meeting scheduled for May 20.
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