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Bokoshe Board Cans Police Chief, WifeFeb 11, 2011 (Times Record - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The Bokoshe Board of Trustees fired Bokoshe Police Chief Shane Robinson and his wife Johnna Robinson, also a city employee, in a special meeting this week, Bokoshe Trustee Dale Whitecotton Sr. confirmed Thursday. Whitecotton was appointed police commissioner Monday. He said he could not state why the Robinsons were terminated other than saying it was "for the good of the service." The personnel matter had been discussed in executive session Monday, Whitecotton said. Shane Robinson worked for the city for about two years, Whitecotton said, first as a reserve officer. He was appointed police chief when the former police chief left to take another job. Johnna Robinson worked in the town's Emergency Management Department and helped in the administrative office, Whitecotton said. The trustees suspended the police chief on Jan. 31, following allegations he'd accosted and beaten Trustee Billy C. Ritter, then the police commissioner, at a Bokoshe convenience store on the morning of Jan. 28. His fellow trustees officially accepted Ritter's resignation as commissioner on Monday. Ritter continues to serve as a trustee. Whitecotton said the police commissioner serves as a go-between for the trustees and the Police Department. After the alleged Jan. 28 altercation, Ritter was treated at Eastern Oklahoma Medical Center for a broken nose, split lip, black eye and concussion, LeFlore County Sheriff Bruce Curnutt has said. According to Curnutt, Robinson was upset with Ritter because the trustees had rehired police officer Terry Winn, whom Robinson had fired in December. According to Curnutt, Ritter told Sheriff's Office investigators Shane Robinson pulled up behind his vehicle at the convenience store and started an altercation that progressed from shoving and finger poking to fighting. Curnutt said his office turned a report of the incident over to the District Attorney's Office. He said striking an elected official is a felony in Oklahoma. The District Attorney's Office could not be reached for comment Thursday. Whitecotton said no charges have been filed yet against Shane Robinson. Curnutt has said there's no timeline regarding when or if charges would be filed. Ritter sought a protective order against Shane Robinson, and on Jan. 31, Judge Jeffrey Singer granted an emergency protective order. A hearing on Ritter's petition is set for 9 a.m. Wednesday. Whitecotton said the Bokoshe Board of Trustees planned to meet Thursday evening to decide what to do about Bokoshe's vacant police chief position. Trustee and Mayor Sonny Brewer was the sole dissenting vote in the decision to terminate the police chief and his wife Monday, Whitecotton confirmed. Ritter voted for the termination. A week earlier, Whitecotton asked Brewer to step down as mayor. When Brewer declined, the board tabled the matter at city attorney Desmond Sides' recommendation. It tabled the matter again Monday. On Thursday, Whitecotton said he couldn't discuss why the board sought to remove the mayor. He said the board has learned that Oklahoma law requires them to wait until after the next municipal election when new members are seated to choose a new mayor. The municipal elections are April 5. Whitecotton said Brewer has served as mayor only for a few months. Brewer was appointed mayor after former Mayor Cecil Eugene "Gene" Webster died on Sept. 22. To see more of the Times Record or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.swtimes.com. Copyright (c) 2011, Times Record, Fort Smith, Ark. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |