GEORGETOWN, Ky. (LEX 18) — Members of the Georgetown community have raised concerns after the city’s new mayor fired their police chief. Some are planning to voice their frustrations at a city council meeting Monday.
Mayor Burney Jenkins fired Chief Micheal Bosse during Jenkin’s first week on the job. Bosse had led the department for a decade.
“I’m at a loss for words,” said Geno Ewalt, who is a volunteer for the department as part of the Citizen Police Academy. “I think it was a shock to everyone.”
Monday’s meeting is expected to be attended by a number of Georgetown Police officers there to support Bosse.
The entire department is hurting and confused, said Benjamin Monroe, the police department’s chaplain.
“It was disappointing and very surprising,” Monroe said. “This is a huge loss for the city of Georgetown because we have gone from an average agency to a superior agency in the past 10 years with just strong leadership.”
Explaining the decision in a short call with LEX 18 Friday, Mayor Jenkins said it wasn’t a snap decision, adding it was time for the department to go in a new direction.
“It’s hard to go in a different direction when things are going so well,” Ewalt said. “Georgetown Police go above and beyond to help us. I want the community to respond and help them in their time of need.”
Other agencies come and train with Georgetown on a regular basis, Monroe said. Some officers have taken pay cuts to join the department, he added.
“He's changed the culture of our department, been an advocate for our officers in terms of increased pay, benefits,” Monroe said. “He deeply cares about his officers, their physical emotional, their mental health.”
The city council meeting is set for 6 p.m. Monday at the Scott County Public Library.
