There probably aren’t many cops who haven’t thought, at one time or another, “I should quit and show them!” The reality is that this type of protest toward an employing government is rarely successful. City governments are usually all too happy to replace said officer with a non-vested rookie making less money. But what if an entire force quit, leaving elected officials to explain to their constituents why the city is absolutely bereft of a police force? A town in Tennessee recently found out.

According to the New York Post, the three officers of the town’s police force resigned from their positions within a month of a new mayor, Beth Tripp, being elected. Former Alexandria Police Chief Travis Bryant resigned first, citing “micromanaging,” and the other two members of the department soon followed his lead.

For her part, Tripp denied the allegations, adding that she’d simply directed the officers to take control of a speeding issue on a local road.

The appropriate degree to which elected officials (or appointed executives such as city managers) should weigh in on law enforcement issues is a difficult question. On one hand, the American governmental tradition leans heavily on the ability of citizens to elect people to oversee the unelected bureaucrats. More recently, though, legislation tends to frown upon non-trained, non-sworn personnel making police decisions. In Tennessee, chiefs are required to be sworn officers. This gives a clear indication that the Legislature intends for police decision makers to have a certain level of training.

While the world debates on just what a mayor should or shouldn’t be telling the police to do, Alexandria is hiring. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department will be providing law enforcement protection in the meantime.