SOUTHPORT — There has been a change in the Southport Police Department.
On Tuesday, Southport Mayor Jim Cooney confirmed he decided to take the police department in a different direction and with that came the termination of Tom Vaughn.
Cooney then named Nate Williams as the Interim Police Chief in Southport.
Vaughn, who has run the department for the last 11 years, still believes his is the chief.
Shortly after Vaughn says he filed a grievance against Southport Mayor Jim Cooney, Vaughn received a termination letter from the Mayor.
Vaughn claims Cooney does not have the authority to fire him. Vaughn believes the Public Works and Safety Board must vote to terminate him as chief.
On Wednesday, Mayor Jim Cooney spoke with media and read ordinances that he says make him, as mayor, responsible for hiring and firing the chief of police.
Cooney says the board decides whether or not Vaughn can be terminated from the force entirely.
According to Cooney, the issue in the relationship between he and Vaughn began recently when Vaughn refused to turn over documentation of disciplinary actions within the department.
On Thursday, Vaughn was reinstated as the chief of police.
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