West Virginia Town
Fires Police Force After Alleged Evidence Room Break-In
Published
A tiny West Virginia town is without a police force because every officer was fired from their department after their evidence room was allegedly broken into.
The Barrackville Police Department announced the eyebrow-raising news in a Facebook post Tuesday, saying, “Effective immediately, the entire Barrackville Police Department has been relieved of duty by the Mayor and City Council.”
Former Barrackville officer Sgt. Hunt told 12 News he came into work Tuesday morning and discovered the evidence room had seemingly been broken into. He took the news directly to Mayor Tom Straight and the Barrackville Town Council to discuss the situation, and suggested a member of the council may have had something to do with it.
He made the allegation after noting the council allegedly mentioned they wanted to run an inventory of the department without any officers present … and after claiming a councilmember confessed to taking a set of police keys.
Hunt told the outlet he and the only other officer for Barrackville were immediately placed on inactive status. The police clerk has since stepped down.
He told the mayor and council he’s seeking whistleblower protection.
This mix-up in the small town comes less than a week after Barrackville Police Chief Zachary Freeburn suddenly resigned from his position.
The Marion County Sheriff will continue responding to calls for Barrackville. It’s unclear how quickly the town council will seek to fill the vacancies.