Members of the Wellston, Missouri city council voted to completely disband the city’s police department this week only hours after a councilwoman was arrested on illegal firearms charges.
According to Fox 2 Now St. Louis, the incident all began in late 2013 when the councilwoman, Janet Dixon, retaliated against officers for arresting her drug-dealing son.
The councilwoman’s son, Terrance Dixon, who admitted to selling crack-cocaine and heroin out of his home following a drug raid arrest, was given probation after the city council fired all three officers involved in his arrest.
Although the officers were quickly reinstated, one of the officers involved was fired yet again after investigating a domestic violence call the following year that involved none other than Terrance.
Police dash cam video shows Councilwoman Dixon running from Terrance’s residence and putting the alleged female victim into a vehicle before telling the officer “this will be your last paycheck.”
Police reports reveal the alleged victim had contacted officers previously saying Terrance regularly beat her but that “his momma got him out of it.”
Councilwoman Dixon filed a protection order against the fired officer two days after the encounter, telling a local judge that he had threatened to “kill” her “black ass.”
A St. Louis intelligence officer approached the judge following Dixon and revealed that he had traced the officer’s phone location during an investigation into Dixon’s claims. The trace uncovered that the officer was nowhere near Dixon as she had claimed, resulting in the case being dismissed by the judge.
The situation finally came to a head Monday when the city council voted to fire the department’s 23 officers, alleging budget constraints were solely to blame.
Interestingly enough, Councilwoman Janet Dixon had been arrested that very day on suspicion of possessing a firearm with the serial numbers removed. Only four hours after being released from jail, Dixon met with fellow councilmembers and reportedly spearheaded the decision to disband the department.
According to LEOAffairs.com, now-former Wellston Police Chief G.T. Walker argues that the decision was rooted almost entirely in “dirty politics.”
Linda Garner, a councilwoman who voted against the decision, also noted that the vote was made without any public input whatsoever.
The “North County Co-Operative,” a group of officers from neighboring Vinita Park and Vinita Terrace, will now police the Wellston area according to Fox 2.
H/T: LEO Affairs
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