After the appointment of a new town manager, a whole North Carolina police force resigned on Friday.
Kenly police officers and other local officials have filed mass resignation letters, citing stress, hostile work environments and inability to continue long-term improvement projects.
Josh Gibson, Chief of Police, expressed his regret to Justine Jones in a letter.
“In my 21 years with the Kenly Police Department we have experienced ups and downs. We have made significant progress in the past 3 years, which we hoped would continue, especially. Gibson stated that progress is not possible due to the hostile work environment in Kenly.
Local outlets report that Jones and neither the police department have been open to speaking to the media about the nature of the complaints.
Gibson’s resignation was just one of many that were publicly made available following the mass exodus.
Gibson received all resignations, but the chief of police submitted his to Jones.
Jones was hired as town manager after having previously held various positions in local government in other states. The Town of Kenly released a June press release to celebrate Jones’ new role.
Other officials joined the resignation of active duty officers and police leadership.
Some of the outgoing employees in government kept their messages short and to-the-point — including Sharon Evans, Town Clerk.
