MASON, Tenn. — Right now, the small city of Mason, Tennessee — population of about 1,700 — only has one part-time police officer, and no chief.
Mason’s board of aldermen rejected mayor Emmitt Gooden’s appointment of Rick Jewell as the new chief earlier this week.
At a meeting this week, the board also fired the department’s only full-time officer. He’s accused of leaving the town unprotected while on the job.
The board says Gooden hired the new chief without running any information about him by them.
“We don’t have nothing, any information about him,” said Vice Mayor Eddie Noeman. “So, the board asked, do you have more information about him before we hire him? We never have a problem with him, but we have to go through the steps to hire any chief.”
Noeman says the proposed chief could be the right choice but wants the mayor to keep the aldermen informed.
“The mayor he runs the town without any authorization from the city council,” Noeman said.
The back and forth comes as the town of Mason has gone through two police chiefs since June 1.
“Because we have not great leadership actions from the mayor,” Noeman said.
This isn’t the first time the police department has been without a staff. In 2016, Mason dealt with the same issue.
Noeman says he’s concerned about the safety of the town.
“Because if we got any emergency call, we don’t have anybody covered, so we have to call Tipton County,” Noeman said.
The Tipton County Sheriff’s Office confirms they will be handling patrols in Mason.
We tried to get in touch with Gooden multiple times, calling multiple phone numbers and even going to his home. A relative told us he wasn’t there, but they’ll let him know we wanted to speak to him.
For now, Noeman hopes they can get the police department staffed by next month.
Noeman said they are looking at the proposed chief’s records, resume and credentials and plan to make a decision at their next meeting in August.
