White Sulphur Mayor Announces New Police Chief, City Council Creates Public Safety Review Committee

By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV

Mayor Kathy Glover opened the White Sulphur Springs City Council meeting Monday night by reading a statement about personnel changes that have occurred within the city’s police department since Timothy Loehmann was hired and then quickly resigned following a public outcry.

“As mayor, I understand your outrage and emotional investment in this whole situation,” she said. “The police chief oversaw the department’s hiring, firing and disciplinary actions.”

“The newcomer’s name didn’t ring a bell, and I trusted the department chief’s performance and diligence when he was sworn in,” she continued. “When the previous incident came to light, we moved as calmly, quickly and professionally as possible to validate the allegations that were circulating on social media and other sources. It took some time… We attempted to reach the police chief, but he was not available to come into the office on Friday.”

“I contacted the City Attorney to discuss this and to review what little I knew. At the City Attorney’s recommendation, I scheduled a meeting with the Chief of Police, the City Attorney, and myself on Monday, July 1st at 8:00 a.m. At that time, after reviewing the information contained in the officer’s police department personnel file, I scheduled a meeting with the officer for 1:00 p.m. that same day. During the meeting with the officer, he resigned effective immediately.”

“After processing the information I had gathered to date, I contacted Chief Teubert Tuesday evening and requested a meeting with him Wednesday morning at 8:00 a.m. After a brief conversation, Chief Teubert voluntarily resigned as Chief of Police and demoted himself to Patrolman. On July 3, at 1:00 p.m., Deputy Chief Julian R Byer, Jr. was sworn in as the new Chief of Police.”

“While I was not aware of the hiring situation, I still accept responsibility as a city leader. This should not have happened. I accept that there are errors in the current process and that those errors will be investigated and corrected in the future. I sincerely apologize to the Rice family for the unwanted and unnecessary attention this matter has brought to each of you. Thank you.”

Public Safety Review Commission

Later in the meeting, Mayor Glover opened the floor to Councilman Ryan Lockhart to discuss a policy proposal related to police personnel decisions. With his support, Lockhart proposed the creation of a public safety review committee for the city.

“This should spare our citizens the perils that everyone has experienced in recent weeks with the ordeal of the officers,” he said.

The council would consist of three members: the sitting mayor, a sitting city council member and a citizen. It would have the power to review and approve all hiring within the police department and to review and approve all disciplinary actions taken against officers. The chief can only hire a new officer, for example, once all three council members have approved the hiring.

Councilman Thomas Taylor, who previously served as mayor of White Sulphur, expressed support for the proposal. He said that while state code gives mayors the power to oversee all decisions regarding police personnel, he believes that power is too great for one person to have and should be shared among a small group of people.

The City Council unanimously approved Lockhart’s proposal and the council was established to begin work immediately. Mayor Glover, Councilman G.P. Parker and Pastor Greg Scott were selected by the council to serve on the council.

Citizens’ comments

During the part of the agenda devoted to citizen comments, several residents expressed their dissatisfaction with the situation of police personnel.

Jerrell Newsome called on the mayor to resign.

Sonya Brown thanked Lockhart for his policy proposals, but questioned how the situation had come to this.

Penny Fioravante said, “The situation that occurred with the police force was unacceptable. It was not just a bad decision. It was a betrayal of the public trust. It’s going to take more than the removal of the police chief to restore that public trust. Mayor Glover, I respect you very much, but I think you should consider resigning.”

Chief Byer is already sworn in and has previous experience as chief in the neighboring towns of Ronceverte and Alderson. He served as deputy chief until last week when he received a promotion from Mayor Glover.

Councilman Ryan Lockhart said after the meeting: “I am dismayed and disappointed by the decision to keep him (Teubert) on the payroll after the incident that occurred.”