Multiple law enforcement agencies in Oklahoma are short-handed after officials apparently weren’t able to wait to find out whether Donald Trump would keep his promise of providing legislation offering police full immunity.
Late last month, the tiny town of Geary, Oklahoma was rocked by a mass resignation incident after every single member of its police department, including the police chief, quit their jobs. At 10:00 a.m. local time on Halloween morning (October 31), Chief Alicia Ford, along with the town’s only four police officers and two city council members, handed in their resignations, leaving Geary’s residents in stunned disbelief. Chief Ford herself took to Facebook to share the dramatic announcement.
“Thank you citizens of Geary for allowing me (Alicia Ford) to serve as your chief for the past year,” Ford started off. “It is with great sadness that I and the rest of the Geary Police Officers will no longer be serving this community.”
But why the mass exodus? So far, Chief Ford and her former officers remain silent about the specifics of their collective choice to resign. In her post, Ford subtly pointed community members to “get to know your council members,” a cryptic nudge that has left many guessing. As locals speculate about potential town hall drama, Mayor Terryl Allen’s attempt to maintain calm was clear in his response: “We would like to let our citizens know we are conducting business as usual.”
Adding to the chaos, this sudden departure leaves Geary, a town just 50 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, temporarily without local law enforcement. To quell the anxiety sweeping through the community, a separate Facebook post from Terryl Allen, the city’s Public Information Officer, emphasized that they had scrambled to secure an interim chief, and neighboring Blaine County and Canadian County Sheriff’s Offices were on standby.
“If you have an emergency, please contact 911 like you normally would and an officer will be dispatched to assist you,” Allen assured the town’s residents.
Strangely enough, Geary isn’t the only Oklahoma community facing a mass resignation from law enforcement. Just days before, four out of five deputies in neighboring Grant County also up and quit, staging their dramatic exit in a group text message on October 28. Sheriff Scott Sterling, who has been left with the daunting task of managing both the jail and emergency calls with only one remaining deputy, admitted to feeling blindsided.
“It’s disappointing, but, you know, you just take what’s given to you and find a way to overcome it,” Sheriff Scott Sterling said. “The text stated that this was her two-week notice, effective immediately, and then a second deputy replied in that chat saying, ‘Same.’ Third deputy replied, said, ‘same,’ and fourth deputy replied, ‘same.’”
Check out the video above for more details on the ongoing situation.