The police department in the US town of Milner, Georgia, has been left almost entirely without officers after mass resignations over the covert tracking of the police chief's official vehicle, infohub.kz reports.
Police Chief Lamar Bunn, along with five full-time officers and several part-time employees, submitted their resignations during a city council meeting. The mass walkout was prompted by the discovery of a tracking device on the chief's official vehicle.
The conflict erupted after Lamar Bunn publicly accused Mayor Craig Timmons of installing the tracker on his official pickup truck without authorization. According to the police chief, the mayor asked for the device back in front of witnesses. One officer said in his resignation letter that the city's mayor personally paid for the surveillance equipment. The mayor declined to answer questions from journalists and council members about the tracker.
The departure of the entire police force has created serious problems for the town of about 800 residents. The resignations are expected to take effect at the end of October, and local authorities have yet to decide who will ensure the safety of residents in the meantime. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been notified of the incident.