The entire department quit because of North Carolina’s recently appointed “progressively responsible” city manager, who the police chief claimed created a “hostile work environment.”
Josh Gibson, the chief of the Kenly Police Department, shared the shocking information on Facebook on Thursday. Along with himself and his five police officers, he claimed that the deputy city manager and a key employee had also resigned in disapproval.
Gibson claimed that alongside himself and his colleagues, utility worker Christy Jones and assistant city manager Sharon Evans also resigned.
City Manager Justine Jones photo
Middle-aged black woman Justin Jones filed a lawsuit against Richland County, South Carolina, after her release, alleging both gender and racial discrimination.
According to WRAL, the press release omitted Jones’ termination. Jones was a progressive black woman who filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against her previous employer alleging race and sex discrimination more than eight years ago.
After being fired in March 2015, Jones sued a former South Carolina employer for racial discrimination. In court documents, she claimed Richland County officials treated her “hostilely” and underpaid her because she was disabled and black.
She further claimed that the county wrongfully fined her for “uncovering serious fraud, wrongdoing and violations of the law.”
Following news of the resignation of the city’s police chief this week, 4 police officers and 2 staff resigned in #Kenly tonight. They all mention problems with Justine Jones, the new city manager.
Many locals are eagerly awaiting the outcome of the recent secret City Council meeting.
The lawsuit was dropped voluntarily and without explanation in April 2017, according to court documents. According to her LinkedIn page, she has previously identified herself as the “Principal CEO” of her consulting firm, Word of Mouth Realtime.
She has worked for local governments in Minnesota, Virginia, South Carolina and now North Carolina for the last 16 years.
In the small town of Kenly, which is about 45 miles from Raleigh, most of the 2,400 residents — or about 55 percent — are black.
The town’s closely affiliated residents were left stunned when Jones refused to speak about the schism when contacted by a local publication, claiming that she was “not authorized to respond due to a personnel matter”.
The entire force of the Kenly NC Police Department is resigning
In the village of Kenly, population 2,000, there are now only three part-time police officers to manage the force that has been shrinking as a result of the deduction. Gibson posted the unexpected information on Facebook.
According to WRAL, Gibson has officially announced his retirement in writing. He explained in his letter that his army, despite being the “longest-serving leader” in the region, had recently made “significant progress” in overcoming unspecified “up and downs.”
Neither his letter nor the article contained any information about the specific grievances the department had against Jones. Jones might consider staying on, the outgoing police chief told WRAL if he were replaced.
The other two employees also made allegations against Jones but did not go into details.
What happened in North Carolina’s Kenly?
An entire police force in North Carolina has quit.
Gibson quit his longtime job in early August shortly after handing in the resignation letter, stating on Facebook that he was leaving the police force and was unsure of his future intentions.
District Clerks Christy Thomas and Sharon Evans were named by Gibson after they each submitted letters of resignation claiming they were unable to handle the additional duties Jones brings.
However, Gibson expressed displeasure with the department’s understaffing, claiming that it increased the strain on officers and staff. The five officers and the staff failed to specify the intensity of the antagonism to which they were referring.
Along with the other officers, Austin Hills, Jason Tedder, GW Strong, and Darren K. Pate expressed approval of what their superiors had said and dissatisfaction with the culture Jones had built at work since taking up her position less than two years ago months.