OAKBORO — At a special-called meeting at Oakboro Town Hall on Aug. 27, the Oakboro Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to enter contract negotiations with the Stanly County Sheriff’s Office for police protection inside the town.
The move signals an unknown future for the Oakboro Police Department, which has undergone notable resignations recently.
In April, five of the town’s officers —three part-time and two full-time— put in their two-week resignation notices. Former Oakboro Police Chief T.J. Smith then stepped down from his position in July, while others have since followed his lead.
That same month, the Oakboro Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 to move forward with the Oakboro Police Department, advertising a call to hire a police chief and other officers; Jason Eschert was named as the town’s interim police chief.
Latoya Jackson, Bud Smith, and Joey Carpenter voted in favor of keeping the department, while Brett Barbee and Lanny Hathcock voted against it.
However, with just five officers left, three of the remaining officers put in their notice at the end of August, leaving just two left to serve the town.
“As you may be aware, at last night’s council meeting the board unanimously agreed to move forward with entering into contractual negotiations with the Stanly County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement protection,” the Town of Oakboro wrote in an online statement on Aug. 28. “This comes in response to the majority of the police officers submitting their letters of resignation. These officers have chosen to move forward with their careers and the town fully supports those officers and their families.”
Because of the deficiencies in police coverage, Oakboro Town Administrator Georgia Harvey has now been asked to go into contract negotiations with the county sheriff’s office.
“We as town board members want you to know that our town is not going without law enforcement protection,” the town’s statement continued. “Since May, the Stanly County Sheriff’s Office has been assisting with coverage and they assure us they will continue to provide coverage until a contract can be reached. Moving forward, we as a town board will do our very best to keep you informed on this progress.”
With Oakboro’s law enforcement circumstances in flux, some of the town’s citizens are unhappy with how its elected leaders have handled the situation. Resident Andrew Mullis created a change.org petition demanding the resignations of four city leaders: Mayor Chris Huneycutt, Town Administrator Georgia Harvey, and Commissioners Lanny Hathcock and Brett Barbee.
“Their decision making, which starkly goes against the will of the Oakboro citizens, has led to the disintegration of the valued police department,” Mullis wrote in his petition. “In less than six months, we lost a police department, an institution crucial for our security and stability. The resignation of these officials would be the first step toward rectifying the injustices our town has endured.”
As of Tuesday, Sept. 3, the petition has 240 signatures.