• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Subscribe to the Magazine
American Police Beat

American Police Beat Magazine

Law Enforcement Publication

  • Home
  • Editor’s Picks
    • The power of teamwork
      Stay awake and alert on the job
      The worst rank in law enforcement
      Firearms maintenance
      Why fries need salt
  • Topics
    • On the Job
      • Time to address the status of women in policing today
        Police K-9 comforts Michigan State University students returning to...
        Volkswagen acknowledges policy breach after failing to provide...
        Michigan lieutenant completes DoorDash delivery for pregnant driver...
        South Carolina woman diagnosed with brain tumor thanks to traffic stop
    • Labor
      • LAPD union proposes police stop responding to non-emergency calls
        Florida’s recruitment program lures Chicago police officers to the...
        Staffing shortages plague Cleveland police as record number leave the...
        New Orleans interim police chief aims to hire civilians in time for...
        “Anyone can get this job”: Memphis police lowered hiring...
    • Tech
      • Crypto crime investigations
        Austin Police Department launches non-emergency artificial...
        iPhone crash detection feature helps deputies rescue driver from canal
        Nebraska State Patrol uses drone technology to improve traffic flow...
        Dayton greenlights police access to private security camera footage
    • Training
      • U.S. trails in police training
        Denver police recruit has leg amputated after training drill
        Defunding vs. refunding public services
        Apathy is not the problem — leadership is
        Train more effectively with steel targets
    • Policy
      • Utah bill aims to regulate how law enforcement uses genetic genealogy...
        Opposing POVs on permit-less carry
        Ohio bill would lower minimum age to become a police officer to 18 to...
        Utah bill would allow people with “invisible conditions” to alert...
        Speaking up for K-9 colleagues
    • Health/Wellness
      • Nonprofit offers telehealth therapy to upstate New York first...
        A California police department’s new wellness unit aims to improve...
        Massachusetts police department prioritizes officers’ mental health...
        My poor coping strategies
        Heart health
    • Community
      • Central Texas nonprofit to open law enforcement museum in honor of...
        “It was an honor to serve with her”: Kansas first responders...
        Chicago police cook with children to build community relationships
        Wisconsin teen fighting brain cancer becomes police officer for a day
        Texas law enforcement agencies team up to fight cancer
    • Offbeat
      • Not UFOs: Police departments across the country receive 9-1-1 calls...
        Texas deputy detains runaway tortoise after “slowest foot...
        Suspect hiding in bathtub in Florida calls 9-1-1 to send deputies to...
        Person in ‘Scream’ costume frightens California community,...
        “Brave and honest” toddler rats out fugitive hiding in Kentucky...
    • We Remember
      • Boone County holds fifth annual Jacob Pickett Remembrance Day to...
        Farewell to a “living legend”: Oldest law enforcement officer in...
        “Officer Becerra will never be forgotten”: Colorado police...
        “I had a calling”: Colorado cadet inspired by fallen hero Eric...
        Chicago police remember fallen and injured officers this holiday...
  • On the Job
    • Time to address the status of women in policing today
      Police K-9 comforts Michigan State University students returning to...
      Volkswagen acknowledges policy breach after failing to provide...
      Michigan lieutenant completes DoorDash delivery for pregnant driver...
      South Carolina woman diagnosed with brain tumor thanks to traffic stop
  • Labor
    • LAPD union proposes police stop responding to non-emergency calls
      Florida’s recruitment program lures Chicago police officers to the...
      Staffing shortages plague Cleveland police as record number leave the...
      New Orleans interim police chief aims to hire civilians in time for...
      “Anyone can get this job”: Memphis police lowered hiring...
  • Tech
    • Crypto crime investigations
      Austin Police Department launches non-emergency artificial...
      iPhone crash detection feature helps deputies rescue driver from canal
      Nebraska State Patrol uses drone technology to improve traffic flow...
      Dayton greenlights police access to private security camera footage
  • Training
    • U.S. trails in police training
      Denver police recruit has leg amputated after training drill
      Defunding vs. refunding public services
      Apathy is not the problem — leadership is
      Train more effectively with steel targets
  • Policy
    • Utah bill aims to regulate how law enforcement uses genetic genealogy...
      Opposing POVs on permit-less carry
      Ohio bill would lower minimum age to become a police officer to 18 to...
      Utah bill would allow people with “invisible conditions” to alert...
      Speaking up for K-9 colleagues
  • Health/Wellness
    • Nonprofit offers telehealth therapy to upstate New York first...
      A California police department’s new wellness unit aims to improve...
      Massachusetts police department prioritizes officers’ mental health...
      My poor coping strategies
      Heart health
  • Community
    • Central Texas nonprofit to open law enforcement museum in honor of...
      “It was an honor to serve with her”: Kansas first responders...
      Chicago police cook with children to build community relationships
      Wisconsin teen fighting brain cancer becomes police officer for a day
      Texas law enforcement agencies team up to fight cancer
  • Offbeat
    • Not UFOs: Police departments across the country receive 9-1-1 calls...
      Texas deputy detains runaway tortoise after “slowest foot...
      Suspect hiding in bathtub in Florida calls 9-1-1 to send deputies to...
      Person in ‘Scream’ costume frightens California community,...
      “Brave and honest” toddler rats out fugitive hiding in Kentucky...
  • We Remember
    • Boone County holds fifth annual Jacob Pickett Remembrance Day to...
      Farewell to a “living legend”: Oldest law enforcement officer in...
      “Officer Becerra will never be forgotten”: Colorado police...
      “I had a calling”: Colorado cadet inspired by fallen hero Eric...
      Chicago police remember fallen and injured officers this holiday...
  • Between the Lines
    • The imprisonment of law enforcement technology
      Persecution of the LEO is classic schadenfreude
      The rule of law is worthless without order
      School policing: a paradox of the defund movement
      Defending the honor of the LE profession – finally!
  • About
  • The Magazine
  • Events
  • Partners
  • Products
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Search

Labor

Entire police force quits in small North Carolina town to protest hiring of progressive manager

APB Team Published August 1, 2022 @ 6:00 am PDT

iStock.com/pcess609

The entire police force of Kenley, North Carolina, has suddenly quit their jobs in protest of the town’s recently acquired “progressively responsible” manager.

According to Kenley Police Chief Josh Gibson, new town manager Justine Jones has “created a hostile work environment,” leading the chief and his five police officers, along with the town’s assistant manager and a clerk, to resign in protest.

“I have put in my two weeks’ notice along with the whole police department,” Gibson said. Incredibly, Gibson had served with the department for 21 years and was the self-proclaimed “longest-running chief” in the area.

“The new manager has created an environment I do not feel we can perform our duties and services to the community,” he added. He also felt that his department made “substantial progress” in dealing with “ups and downs” over the years.

“However, due to the hostile work environment in the town of Kenly, I do not believe progress is possible,” he wrote in his letter to Jones, without specifying that she was the cause of said environment.

The police chief’s social media announcement and resignation letter did not list specific grievances against Jones. However, he told WRAL that he would consider staying if Jones was let go.

Kenly’s town attorney Chip Hewett said the town would hold an emergency meeting to discuss the public safety situation.

“We just learned about this [Wednesday], it effects the entire police department and staff members, we are looking at having an emergency special meeting to figure out how to move forward with it,” Hewett said.

The town indeed held a closed emergency meeting on the evening of July 22. The details of the meeting were undisclosed. Jones told WRAL that she was “not at liberty to talk because of a personal matter.”

Jones was hired on June 2 following a “nationwide search,” according to a town press release. The town celebrated her hiring, praising Jones for her work in “progressively responsible positions” across several states.

According to WRAL, Jones had several conflicts with past employers. In one case, she filed a lawsuit against a South Carolina county for racial discrimination after she was fired in March 2015.

In the lawsuit, she accused Richland County officials of “hostile” treatment and unfair pay due to her skin color and a disability she had. She also accused the county of discrimination because she was a “whistleblower” for the county’s “fraud, wrongdoing and violations of the law.”

Court records reveal that the lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed in April 2017 without explanation.

Jones described herself on her LinkedIn as “principal CEO” of her own consulting company, Word of Mouth Realtime, before being hired by Kenley. She has two master’s degrees — one in public policy and the other in public administration.

Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell said that his deputies will take over for Kenly’s officers for the time being.

“I will be there for the people of Kenly, and they can rest assured they would have deputies patrolling the streets,” he said. “They may be the citizens of the town of Kenly, but they’re still citizens of the county of Johnston, also,” he continued.

Kenley has a population of roughly 2,000 residents.

Categories: Labor Tags: public safety, Entire police force, progressive, town manager, Justine Jones, Josh Gibson, Kenley Police Department, Johnston County, lawsuit, North Carolina

Primary Sidebar

Recent Articles

  • Utah bill aims to regulate how law enforcement uses genetic genealogy data
  • Not UFOs: Police departments across the country receive 9-1-1 calls about planetary phenomenon
  • Crypto crime investigations
  • Central Texas nonprofit to open law enforcement museum in honor of police officers and to educate the public
  • Texas deputy detains runaway tortoise after “slowest foot pursuit” ever
  • Time to address the status of women in policing today
  • Police K-9 comforts Michigan State University students returning to class after campus mass shooting
  • Volkswagen acknowledges policy breach after failing to provide Illinois sheriff’s office with GPS location of car carrying abducted toddler
  • Opposing POVs on permit-less carry
  • Boone County holds fifth annual Jacob Pickett Remembrance Day to support law enforcement families

Footer

Our Mission
To serve as a trusted voice of the nation’s law enforcement community, providing informative, entertaining and inspiring content on interesting and engaging topics affecting peace officers today.

Contact us: info@apbweb.com | (800) 234-0056.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Categories

  • Editor’s Picks
  • On the Job
  • Labor
  • Tech
  • Training
  • Policy
  • Health/Wellness
  • Community
  • Offbeat
  • We Remember
  • Jobs and Careers
  • Events

Editor’s Picks

The power of teamwork

The power of teamwork

July 23, 2021

Stay awake and alert on the job

Stay awake and alert on the job

July 20, 2021

The worst rank in law enforcement

The worst rank in law enforcement

July 19, 2021

Firearms maintenance

Firearms maintenance

July 04, 2021

Privacy Policy | Copyright © 2023 APB Media, LLC | Website design, development and maintenance by 911MEDIA

Open

Subscribe

Close

Receive the latest news and updates from American Police Beat directly to your inbox!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.