The city of Wellston, Missouri, no longer has a community police department of its own. Earlier this week, the city of 2,300 watched its entire city police department disbanded after an investigation. While this was a surprise to many community members, others believe something was going to occur since there was conspicuous tension between the police department and city council.
According to reports, tension has been brewing specifically between councilwoman Janet Dixon and the police department for some time. Back in 2013, the son of the councilwoman, Terrace Dixon, has his home raided after receiving vital information of crack cocaine and heroin being distributed from the location. According to sources privy to the situation, said councilwoman Dixon was not happy about the raid. Seemingly in a retaliatory execution, three officers (including one that capture Dixon making confessions on tape) were fired by the city council, a short period of time after the raid.
Although the officers received an expeditious reinstatement, one of the officers was fired again after investigating a domestic violence dispute the following year. Guess which resident’s house the police officer visited? Terrance Dixon, again! Many folks believe Councilwoman Janet Dixon was to blame for the officer receiving another firing.
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. Undeterred by strained relationship, the police department continued serving and protecting the community in which they operate, until Monday. According to news sources, each of the 23 police officers found locks were changed at the department location and all were forced to hand over their badges and weapons.
In an extremely interesting situation, Councilwoman Janet Dixon was arrested on Monday morning under suspicion of possessing a defaced firearm. She was released from jail shortly after 3:00 pm on Monday, and happened to vote to disband the police department just four hours later.
Former Police Chief G.T. Walker was offered a job in the new department, but he declined to take the job, saying he “couldn’t take the job in good conscience” after the other officers were let go.
The Wellston City Council voted 5-2 in a closed session to completely disband the police department. Instead, they would bring in officers from the neighboring Vinita Park to police their neighborhood. Officially, according to a news source, the move was meant to cut spending in the cash-strapped city.
“With limited resources, I think it is so important for our cities to at least consider collaborating and sharing more resources,” Wellston Mayor Nate Griffin told reporters.
Wellston Police Chief G.T. Walker had a much different take on why the department was disbanded. He claims that it was a direct result of “dirty politics” that the department was disbanded, claiming that Dixon herself led the charge to disband the department after the arrests of her son and herself.
The “North County Co-Operative,” a group of officers from neighboring Vinita Park and Vinita Terrace, will now police the Wellston.
SOURCE: FOX 2 NEWS
