By Joe Barker And Adam Rollins, Record Staff Writers
Posted 11/7/19
Marthasville Police Chief Eugene Jenkins was finishing out his shift Sunday afternoon when he was handed a letter not only ending his employment, but eliminating the entire Marthasville Police …
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UPDATE: Marthasville dissolves police department
Posted
By Joe Barker And Adam Rollins, Record Staff Writers
Marthasville Police Chief Eugene Jenkins was finishing out his shift Sunday afternoon when he was handed a letter not only ending his employment, but eliminating the entire Marthasville Police Department.Jenkins said around 4 p.m. Sunday, Marthasville Mayor David Lange presented him with a letter saying the board of aldermen had approved the elimination of the city’s police department, effective Friday, May 19.“I am in total shock,” Jenkins told The Record. “I feel sorry for the citizens of Marthasville.”In a statement to The Record, Lange said the “decision was reached after careful consideration of all of the ramifications of eliminating the city’s police department.”Lange said the board looked at many factors, including cost. One factor he noted was that a fully staffed Marthasville Police Department only had officers on duty for 60 hours a week. When the officers were off, the Warren County Sheriff’s Department took over.“Moving forward, the Warren County Sheriff’s Department will provide law enforcement to the residents of the city of Marthasville at all times, without any additional cost to the city and its taxpayers,” he said. “This will result in a financial benefit to our city on both a short-term and long-term basis.”Jenkins ‘blindsided’Jenkins started with the Marthasville Police Department in 2001, and after one month, was named the chief. He was currently the only officer on staff. Patrolman E. Ray House resigned in April.Jenkins, who was off both Friday and Saturday, said there was no warning that the department or his position were going to be eliminated.“I was blindsided,” he said.Marthasville had a population of 1,136 in the 2010 census.Jenkins said the letter he received from the mayor did not offer much information. He was instructed to turn over all city property and any keys in his possession.Jenkins said he did not have a conversation with the mayor Sunday, but is expecting one about his future compensation. He said per policy, he is entitled to all his sick days and vacation days. He has accumulated more than 3,200 hours of paid time off at a rate of $16.25 per hour.He said he’s entitled to the money and expects it to be paid out. In his resignation letter in April, House said in his two years with the city, he has seen the police department deteriorate.He said the administration “comprising of the mayor and some selected aldermen don’t have any concept of how a police department” works.House said the mayor’s micro management has done nothing but hamper the operations and puts “citizens in jeopardy.”Sheriff’s responseWarren County Sheriff Kevin Harrison said he would increase the number of patrols through Marthasville for the time being to alleviate any worries.Other than that, he said his department will maintain its current presence in southern Warren County.“We will do as we’ve always done: Answer emergency calls in Marthasville,” Harrison said.However, having a resident officer in town is something the sheriff’s department can’t duplicate, he noted.If a deputy is in or near Marthasville, call response times will be fast, Harrison said. However, if the patrol car is further away or on another call, he said the average response time could be 15 to 20 minutes.Emergency calls likely would elicit a faster response, but such calls requiring immediate attention are relatively rare in Marthasville, he said.According to uniform crime reporting data collected by the state between 2014 and 2016, only one violent crime, an assault, was reported in the city. There were two reported burglaries during that same time period.The crime is mostly theft, typically less than 10 reported per year. So far in 2017, one burglary and one theft have been reported.Last actOne of Jenkins’ last interactions with the mayor and aldermen as chief of police was during a heated city meeting late Thursday night.Resident Trei Irwin was airing several grievances against the city during a public comment session, in which five minutes are allotted to each speaker.Alderman Nick Lange, the mayor’s son, tried to silence Irwin after five minutes, and the two had a short argument.Irwin said “You hush, Nick,” and “Don’t you do it,” but did not otherwise make any aggressive statements.Several minutes later, Alderman Lange asked Jenkins to remove Irwin from the building.“I feel threatened and I can’t take this right now. He was threatening me,” Lange said.Jenkins replied that he could not take action because he was off duty, and he wanted to know what made Lange feel threatened.Alderman Lange left for the rest of the public meeting to call a Warren County sheriff’s deputy, who arrived more than 15 minutes later. Immediately after, members of the public were locked out of city hall while the board entered into closed session.
Marthasville Police Chief Eugene Jenkins stands by the department's 2014 Chevy Tahoe purchased from fines collected following a federal immigration seizure that the department aided several years ago.
