The Cohutta Town Council on Friday reinstated the north Georgia community’s entire police department, restoring the jobs and back pay of Chief Greg Fowler and about 10 officers just two days after Mayor Ron Shinnick dissolved the department. The move came during a special meeting packed with residents, news media, and the dismissed officers, and followed legal advice that the firings violated the town charter’s requirement for 30-day notice before employee removal.
Vice Mayor Shane Kornberg told The Associated Press that Town Attorney Bryan Rayburn had informed the council the charter had not been followed. After an executive session on litigation, Shinnick voluntarily did not return to the meeting. Kornberg then presided, and the council passed an ordinance reinstating the police force and a separate measure preventing the mayor from firing officers for 30 days. The council tabled “for the foreseeable future” the remainder of the agenda, which included an item on removing Shinnick from office.
The department was dissolved Wednesday morning, when a sign posted in the town of about 930 people announced the dissolution “per Mayor Ron Shinnick” and directed emergency calls to a county number. Shinnick told a local television station he acted because of officers’ social media posts, but did not immediately return calls and emails seeking comment Friday.
Sgt. Jeremy May, who was among those fired, accused the mayor of a personal vendetta, telling WRCB-TV that he and other officers had raised a complaint about Shinnick’s wife, Pam Shinnick, the town clerk. “This all comes to personal vendetta from the mayor, and I wholeheartedly believe that,” May said. “We took a stand for transparency, and in result, every one of them has lost their jobs.”
Fowler, the chief, could not comment in detail as officers cleared out the department earlier in the week but confirmed the firings to the same station. Residents attempted to livestream Friday’s council meeting, but weak cell service in the area prevented them from doing so, according to multiple townspeople.
Cohutta sits just south of the Tennessee line, about 100 miles northwest of Atlanta. While no town officers were on duty, the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office had pledged deputies to respond if needed. The reinstatement ensures the town’s police coverage resumes without interruption.