Former town marshal fired

REDKEY — The former town marshal has been fired.

Redkey Town Council decided at a special meeting Monday to terminate officer Chris Jack’s employment, effective immediately.

Council members’ 4-1 decision came after an executive session held to discuss Jack’s alleged infractions of the town’s personnel policy. Jack was suspended with pay last month and cited with a major infraction for allegedly “committing an act of violence or an act of improper or immoral conduct while employed by the Town.” Per the policy, employees who commit major infractions may be subject to termination.

According to Jack’s disciplinary action forms and related documents, he allegedly had a heated discussion with a local resident in July at Dollar General in Redkey. The documents say a witness told police that the alleged conflict involved “yelling, finger pointing, and vulgarity” and that threats were made by both parties. Video footage from the incident did not include audio, and an Indiana State Police investigation into the matter was closed.

Another disciplinary action form indicated Jack refused to follow the chain of command for reporting attendance.  

When asked for details about the cause of his termination, Jack alleged council president Brenda Beaty made up reasons to fire him. He said he didn’t make threats against the resident, noting that Indiana State Police’s investigation was closed.

“I will be filing (law)suits against her for all this stuff,” he said.

Council member “Watermellon” Jim Phillips made a motion Monday to place Jack on “probation,” which would involve creating a performance improvement plan with 30-day reviews for Jack moving forward. The motion died for lack of a second.

With Phillips dissenting, council members Byron Daugherty, Floyd Life, Jenny Staver and Beaty then voted to terminate Jack.

Alex Heath is currently serving as marshal. He’s attending Indiana Law Enforcement Academy through September.