Residents of a small Oklahoma town were left angry and frustrated following the sudden resignation of their entire police force.
The four-person police force of Geary, a town of about 1,000 some 50 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, quit en masse Thursday with little explanation, and two members of the city council also announced their resignations.
“We don’t have much of a city anymore,” resident Sonja Luquette told local Oklahoma City TV-station KOCO-TV.
“I’m not happy by any means. A city without its police force is a danger to the citizens of the town,” an anonymous resident told Fox affiliate KOKH-TV.
“When I tell you there’s misconduct and corruption going on in the town of Geary, that is exactly what’s happening,” the person added.
“It’s really sad that it’s come to this.”
The mass resignations were announced in a social media post by former police chief Alicia Ford, who didn’t provide a reason.
“It is with great sadness that I and the rest of the Geary police officers will no longer be serving this community,” Ford wrote. “But it was the right decision for me and the other officers.”
Ford told KOCO that a consultant hired by the city council to probe the Geary Police Department had been named interim chief.
The new interim chief, JJ Stitt, confirmed to KOKH that he was initially hired as a consultant, but was suddenly brought on to lead the department.
“It was the other night that I was given the information that, ‘Hey. We may have a problem at the police department. We’re going to need somebody to step up. Is it a possibility for you?’ I was hesitant at first,” he told the outlet.
“I was like, ‘Hey. I’ll help out best I can.’”
He said he was “not fully aware” of the reasons behind the resignations of Ford and the three other officers who quit Thursday
“If this isn’t an emergency then what is?” Geary resident Tatum Wigington told KOCO.
“The same person who is the acting interim chief was hired by the city council to do an audit on the police department and now he is the interim chief. That seems a little suspicious,” Wigington added.
Former Geary City Council members Rocky Coleman and Kristy Miller also resigned on Thursday.
In a letter provided to KOKH, Coleman said his values did not align with the city’s current direction.
“Ever since I’ve lived here it’s been one drama after another and it worries me for this town like we should be building up, not falling down,” Luquette lamented.
“We need to figure out what the problem is and we need to fix it. It needs to be fixed and it needs to start at the top.”
Geary for the time being will get law enforcement support from the Blaine County and Canadian County Sheriff’s Office, Stitt said.
“It’s not doomsday here. We’re taking care of business. It’s business as usual,” he insisted.
The City of Geary could not be immediately reached for a comment.
