The mayor-elect of the small town of Eutaw, Alabama has announced he will give three fired officers their jobs back, after the outgoing mayor unexpectedly terminated them several weeks ago.
The mayor-elect in the small Greene County town confirmed with ABC 33 yesterday that the officers would be reinstated after he was officially sworn-in. Raymond Steele won the October 4 run-off election against incumbent mayor Hattie Edwards. Steele served three terms as Mayor of Eutaw from 2000-2012.
He told the local news station: “The [police] chief and I have talked and the chief feels that they were unfairly removed from their duties…Eutaw is a safe place and it will continue to be a safe place for people to do business and citizens to feel secure and safe in their homes.”
Three weeks ago, Edwards handed out termination letters with no explanation — cutting the police staff in half. The town has a population of about 3,000, according to the 2010 census. Residents worried about safety after Edwards took the unilateral action.
One of the officers, Robert Clayton, was told he was fired for ‘conduct unbecoming an officer’ and for filing a false report, which he said was not true. The outgoing mayor reportedly had a personal grudge with Clayton and the others.
The DA called her actions “highly inappropriate” since she didn’t consult with the police chief. Edwards would not comment when WIAT tried to interview her shortly after the terminations were made public.
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