Chief Fred Shelton announced his retirement Monday, after about four years at the top at the Columbus Police Department and more than three decades on the force. He claims that he retired to avoid being terminated.
Columbus City Council, at a heavily attended special-call meeting Monday morning at City Hall, unanimously accepted his retirement. Gaskin said Shelton’s retirement letter was submitted about 8:30 Monday morning. The special meeting was set for 10.
Shelton’s last day will be Aug. 15.
Shelton became chief in 2018, taking the reins at the Columbus Police Department after previous chief Oscar Lewis retired. Shelton spent more than 30 years at CPD, working his way up from patrolman to chief.
Shelton’s tenure has seen a precipitous decline in staffing, and earlier this year several officers spoke anonymously to The Dispatch about morale and discipline problems within the department.
Gaskin confirmed Monday morning that he asked Shelton to resign last week.
“We have lost a large number of officers since his tenure began, 79,” he said. “That’s a real concern. We have done surveys and had discussions with the staff, and many told us the reason they left was not salary but morale and leadership. We had to take all those things into consideration for our officers.”
Gaskin said it was a good time for a change.
“We appreciate everything the chief has done over the years,” he said. “He’s been with us over 30 years. …This is nothing personal, this is finding a way to do the best we can for the citizens of the city.”
Shelton: ‘I was totally shocked’
Shelton told The Dispatch Monday afternoon he was shocked by what had happened.
“(Friday) I was given a notice of intention to terminate,” Shelton said. “Resignation and retirement were options, but I was told (Gaskin) was going to have a special-call meeting of the city council and he was going to ask them to terminate my position.”
Shelton said the biggest issues were Gaskin’s desire for a town marshal position, and the fact that Shelton believes he wants to “place CPD under the control of the sheriff’s department.”
In February the council tabled a request by Gaskin to create a town marshal’s position. The marshal would independently investigate violent crime and would report directly to the mayor.
“I am, and always will be, against the position of city marshal,” Shelton said. “The marshal is being created to obstruct the authority of the police chief and the command staff. There seems to be some idea that Columbus must return to its old glory, and the marshal will assist with that.”
Shelton acknowledged the morale and staffing issues, but said they are beyond the police chief’s power to control.
“The No. 1 issue is pay,” he said. “Starting pay is $13.75 (per hour). Our city administration wants a caliber of service that our pay does not reflect.”
Nearby cities start between $5 and $7 per hour higher, Shelton said.
“Pay discrepancies are not something that the chief of police can fix or change,” Shelton said. “…I have met with (Chief Financial Officer James Brigham and Chief Operating Officer Jammie Garrett) about increasing our pay and have applied for (Department of Justice) grants to show I was not just sitting idly by.”
Shelton said he was sorry that morale was low.
“I do apologize for morale being low, although pay, equipment and the way leadership views the officers is out of my control,” he said. “…If they’re not going to give me the things I need to do the job, it’s like cutting a yard with a pair of scissors. You’ll be there a long time and still won’t get most of the job done.”
Gaskin: National search for replacement
Gaskin said a national search will be conducted to find a replacement, and he wants members of the public to play a role.
“We will immediately begin a search, and we will put together a committee to help us in the process,” he said. “Citizens have asked that citizens be on the committee, there have been citizens on (search committees) in the past, and I think it’s good to have a broad scope of people looking.”
No decision has been made about an interim chief, Gaskin said.
“There have been some preliminary discussions,” he said. “We’ve not made a decision on that…There are no candidates we have been recruiting, there is nobody on standby…I have not spoken to anyone about taking this position.”
It wasn’t clear if Assistant Chief Doran Johnson would be interim chief, Gaskin said.
“You have an assistant chief who may want to step up, but then that person may want to be a candidate for the permanent position,” he said. “Sometimes you don’t want to have a potential candidate serve as interim. Sometimes it’s good to find a neutral somebody.”
Gaskin said Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins’ name has come up as a potential interim chief.
“He is elected by the city as well (as the county),” he said. “…(Hawkins as interim) would be a coordination between the city and the county to make the citizens feel as safe as possible, but that’s not going to be a popular decision with everybody. There has been no permanent decision made on any of that.”
Monday evening City Attorney Jeff Turnage told The Dispatch it was legal for a sheriff to serve as police chief.
“I’ve got three attorney general’s opinions that say that it is legal for a sheriff to serve as chief in the county where he’s elected,” Turnage said. “I don’t see an issue there. The only thing that would be complicated would be how you separate out who he’s working for and when to make sure that he’s getting paid for the work he’s doing. He’s not an hourly employee at either place.”
Hawkins told The Dispatch Tuesday morning the city had been in contact with him and he would temporarily serve if asked.
“I made clear that it would be on a temporary basis,” Hawkins said. “We talked about a 90-day stretch. I have no interest in being police chief, I’m happy being the sheriff.”
Hawkins said he was worried for the community and the department.
“My biggest concern is the safety of the community, and seeing that the day-to-day operations (in the city) are taken care of,” he said. “I’m absolutely willing to do what I can to help the city and the police department as well.”
Hawkins said no decisions had been made as to when he would take over.
“The mayor said they were going to get a search committee together as soon as possible, and (Shelton’s) retirement isn’t until Aug. 15,” he said. “That gives them a month. They may not even need an interim.”
Council reactions
Vice Mayor Joseph Mickens, asked for comment after the meeting, declined to address Shelton’s retirement, citing the fact that it was an executive session matter. He did say the mayor and the council were on the same page about change in the chief’s office.
“The council stands behind (Gaskin),” he said. “I’ll say that.”
Ward 3 Councilman Rusty Greene told The Dispatch that he thought it was time for a change.
“We appreciate all of the years that Chief Shelton has given to this city,” Greene said. “But sometimes change is needed, and with everything going on this seems to be the time for change. It’s time to head in a different direction.”
Beard said his vote in favor of Shelton’s retirement was “self-explanatory.”
“The man wanted to go ahead and retire,” Beard said. “He asked to retire, so we let him retire.”
Both Beard and Greene agreed that the next chief needed to restore order in the department.
“I’m looking for someone who can basically help us get things back in order,” Beard said. “Somebody who can help with the younger officers, somebody that can help with the training.”
Greene said order and a plan were needed just as much as pay raises.
“We’ve got to be able to pay young professionals to come in and join our force, but we’ve also got to show that we’re well run, we’re organized, we’re fair and we have a plan to fight crime,” he said.
They also both agreed that a new chief needed to be able to find grant dollars.
“There are a lot of times where we can go out and get grant money, and that comes from the police department doing their job and going out after it,” Greene said. “And they just haven’t.”
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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