Dale WintersSOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. -- When one resident questioned openly the reasons behind two police officers' resignations from the South Pittsburg Police Department, including Chief Dale Winters, it sparked a heated exchange with one city leader.
Officer Nathan Billingsley submitted his notice on Tuesday and will accept a similar position with nearby Jasper, Tenn.
Winters, who resigned an hour later, said he now will work for the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
"I'll work my two weeks' notice out [in South Pittsburg] and move on," he said.
At the January meeting of the South Pittsburg City Commission, board member Paul Don King said four or five officers have left the department in the last two years.
He said he didn't know if South Pittsburg's wages were smaller than those offered at other area departments or if the departures were due to something else, but he plans on finding out.
"I really don't know what's going on, but something's going on when that many people leave," King said. "There's something wrong somewhere, and it's not good."
When the city hires a new officer, officials said that new employee is sent to the police academy for training and certification in exchange for a two-year commitment to serve the town.
"Two years later, they're leaving us," King said. "We're wasting a lot of money here. When you've got five people leaving the department, something's wrong."
Mayor Jane Dawkins said she isn't sure if that many officers have left the department over that period of time.
Resident Kenneth McCallie's comments on the situation generated a brief, heated exchange with Commissioner Jimmy Wigfall.
McCallie said he didn't think that Winters and Billingsley would have put in as much time as they had serving the town and then leave the department for no reason.
"These guys are leaving for opportunity," Wigfall said. "That's what they said."
McCallie said he didn't believe that, and that "the truth will come out."
"He's standing right there," Wigfall interrupted, pointing at Winters. "He can tell the truth. If he's got a problem, he needs to say it."
Winters did not respond.
McCallie asked Wigfall to let him finish speaking because he "had the floor," and because Wigfall needed to "listen to what I've got to say."
"I ain't got to listen to nothing," Wigfall said.
At that point, Dawkins stopped the back-and-forth between the two and asked McCallie to finish whatever statements he had to make.
Winters thanked the board for the opportunity to "serve in the capacity" he had.
He said the two sudden resignations were unrelated, and it was "coincidental" that both opportunities opened at the same time.
Dawkins said she hated to lose both men because they had been so helpful to her during her first two years as mayor.
"We certainly wish [them] the best with these new opportunities and hope that this turns out to be a good move for them and their families," she said.
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryan lewis34@gmail.com.