Columbus police officer Kenyada Blair has submitted her letter of resignation.
Assistant Police Chief Fred Shelton confirmed Blair, 24, resigned earlier Wednesday, and the matter would go before the Columbus City Council at its regular meeting Tuesday. Shelton declined to comment further on the matter, citing a department policy to not talk about personnel matters.
Blair’s resignation comes just eight days after Lowndes County sheriff’s deputies arrested her on a domestic violence charge for an incident at her home. The officer was already serving an unpaid suspension from work after a June incident where she allegedly fought another female in a McDonald’s parking lot while on duty. Her suspension would have lasted into November.
Both incidents involved the same alleged victim, according to police.
City councilmen The Dispatch contacted Wednesday said they didn’t know Blair planned to resign. Some had previously indicated they would “wait and see” how the criminal case progressed before deciding whether to fire her.
“I had no idea she was going to resign,” Ward 1 Councilman Gene Taylor said.
Taylor added he could not say yet whether he would accept Blair’s resignation when it comes before the council Tuesday.
Ward 3 Councilman Charlie Box said he was not surprised to learn of Blair’s resignation and he “absolutely” plans to accept it.
“I think it’s good that she did,” he said. “She was on suspension. … It appears to me that she has some anger problems.
“It’s just unfortunate,” he added. “She’s a nice lady. I know her and all that, but you can’t conduct yourself like that if you’re representing the city. … She’s supposed to be a peace officer, (so) you can’t get out in the street and fight and carry on like that. It’s just not good.”
Ward 4 Councilman Marty Turner agreed he would accept Blair’s resignation but balked at the notion of the officer being a “nice lady.”
“From my analysis of what people told me, she was not a nice officer at all,” Turner said. “She was rude to most of the citizens. I don’t know her to say that except for one occasion where she didn’t know who I was, and I was just joking with her and she came off as being very rude. Other than that, I don’t know her.
“She got arrested because apparently she did something wrong,” he added. “She decided to resign on her own, and I am more than willing to accept that. And we just need for police officers not to bully people but to make sure that the laws and ordinances are abided by.”
Stephen Jones and Bill Gavin, councilmen for wards 5 and 6, respectively, also said they would accept her resignation.
Gavin added it would probably be “best for all involved.”
The Dispatch could not reach Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens for comment.
Blair is scheduled to appear in Lowndes County Justice Court on Tuesday.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.