Fate of St. Elmo police chief will be determined on Thursday

About 80 vehicles, ranging in size from compact cars to a road grader, paraded through St. Elmo on Monday night. There to greet each of the vehicles on Main Street was Ken Thomason, the man for whom the parade was held.

That parade was organized by Dale Sperry as a way of showing community support for Thomason, who was deposed as chief of police by Mayor Larry Tish last Wednesday.

Tish presented Thomason, the community’s police chief for about 16 ½ years, with a letter of termination two days after Thomason challenged the mayor about testifying against the city in court about an ordinance citation issued to a resident.

In his letter, Tish stated, “It is my opinion that the interests of the municipality demand your removal as chief of police.”

He also stated in the letter that he would give reasons for Thomason’s dismissal at a special council meeting set for 7 p.m. this Thursday. The scheduled meeting place is the Phillips Building on U.S. Route 40.

At that meeting, the council can override Tish’s decision to terminate Thomason with a two-thirds majority. That means that at least four of the city’s six aldermen would have to support a reversal of the mayor’s action.

The Monday evening parade was the latest showing of support for Thomason by St. Elmo residents, many of whom have posted “Support the Chief” or “Reinstate the Chief” signs on their vehicles and property.

Sperry said he thought the parade was an appropriate way to endorse Thomason.

“Before the council meeting (this Thursday), they (aldermen) need to see how much support the chief actually has,” Sperry said, “and I don’t know, other than a peaceful demonstration, what to do to show that.

“We think so much of the chief, and I think he was unfairly treated,” he said.

“I think that if you’re going to let loose of a man, they should tell him why he’s being let go, and at least give the aldermen the opportunity of knowing it before they tell the chief,” Sperry said.

According to a report in last week’s St. Elmo Devonian, Thomason asked Tish at last Monday’s city council meeting why he had voluntarily testified against the city in the case in Tracy May was issued a citation for high weeds.

During that discussion, according to the Devonian report, Tish pointed his finger at Thomason and said that he would talk to the police chief after the meeting.

Tish, who did not return a phone call from The Leader-Union, has said that he, like Thomason, testified that the land owned by May was not the only property in the city with high grass and weeds.

Thomason told The Leader-Union that he did not have a problem with Tish testifying; it was that he did so voluntarily.

“If he had been subpoenaed, I wouldn’t have had a problem with it,” Thomason said. “There’s a proper way to testify and an improper way, and the mayor chose the latter.”

The ordinance case was dismissed, with the judge stating in his ruling that the ordinance cannot be enforced because it is too vague. Instead of stating the height of grass or weeds that warrants a citation, the ordinance leaves decision for a ticket up to the discretion of city police officers.

Thomason said he issued May a citation after receiving complaints about his property from city residents, which he said is the normal practice in dealing with nuisances.

Thomason said last Friday afternoon that he was “weighing my options” on how to challenge Tish’s action, noting that he has been consulting two attorneys.

“The big thing, of course, is to get back to work,” Thomason said.

In his letter, Tish gave Thomason five days to turn over to him his squad car and all city property in his possession. Thomason said on Friday that he had not done that.

“I still have my squad car, and my uniforms are still in my closet,” he said.

Thomason said he has some vacation time on the books, and that he considers himself “to be on vacation right now.”

Shortly after word of Thomason’s dismissal spread throughout the community, a number of residents got out to display their support for the longtime police chief.

Michael L. LaMar was among those, standing at the intersection of U.S. Route 40 and Main Street on Thursday and Friday while holding a “Reinstate the Chief” signs.

He was also handing out similar signs upon requests from passing motorists.

LaMar, who has lived in the St. Elmo area off and on for about 18 years, said he believes that there are proper ways to handle disagreements, and that Tish’s action was not one of those.

“You can be given a verbal warning, a written warning, you can have a letter place in your (personnel) file,” LaMar said. “None of that was done here. You’re supposed to go through the proper channels and procedures.”

LaMar said that in addition to showing his support for Thomason, he wanted to inform city residents of the situations and get them involved in the process.

“I personally wrote to each alderman and told them my feelings, and I’m encouraging other people to do the same,” he said.

“You’re not going to get anything done by just sitting around your kitchen table talking about it,” LaMar said.

“This is a very serious issue, and the people need to be talking about it,” he said.

LaMar said that from what he had been hearing from some residents, community discussions have gone beyond the termination of Thomason.

He said some residents have been contacting Jayson Porter, a city alderman who was serving as interim mayor until being defeated by Tish in the spring mayoral election.

Those residents, LaMar said, have been apologizing to Porter for not voting for him in the mayoral election.

“That’s the sentiment I’m getting,” LaMar said.