Black town manager’s contract has been terminated weeks after entire police force resigned

By Melissa Alonso, CNN

The North Carolina town of Kenly voted 3-2 to terminate the contract of its Black town manager who was at the center of an independent investigation after the town’s police force resigned.

The Kenly town council reviewed the findings of an investigation in a report at an emergency meeting Tuesday and voted to terminate Justine Jones from the post she held for about three months, according to CNN affiliate WTVD.

Former Police Chief Josh Gibson blamed Jones for a toxic and hostile work environment after several officers and city employees resigned in early August, CNN has reported.

Following the resignations, Kenly residents seemed to be split on whether the matter was a “race issue” given that Jones is Black, while the entire Kenly Police Department is White, CNN has reported.

“While all related information is certainly a matter of public concern, the allegations made against me were timely and thoroughly vetted by independent sources and there was no such finding of wrongdoing by me or my office,” Jones said in a statement Wednesday.

“The decision to not communicate the entire story and publicly share the findings of the report is most unfortunate,” Jones said.

“Although I was not able to accomplish all the goals in progress in the short time I served the Town, given my untimely departure, my commitment to leaving Kenly better than I found it is an accomplishment I will always be proud of,” she said.

“I continue to wish nothing but the best for Kenly,” she said.

It’s unclear when the vacant position will be filled.

The-CNN-Wire
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