KENLY, N.C. (WTVD) -- From at least twenty years of seeing a familiar face, to imagining
no one at the Kenly Police Department on Thursday, Nancy Cates, who works at Davis Drug Company of Kenly, is left speechless after five police officers, including the police chief, resigned Wednesday night.
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'It's devastating': Kenly business owners react to PD resigning
By
Cindy Bae
Thursday, July 21, 2022 5:19PM
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KENLY, N.C. (WTVD) -- From at least twenty years of seeing a familiar face, to imagining
no one at the Kenly Police Department on Thursday, Nancy Cates, who works at Davis Drug Company of Kenly, is left speechless after five police officers, including the police chief, resigned Wednesday night.
They're not just town police," Cates said. "They're our family."
For more than two decades, Kenly police chief Josh Gibson served the town with a population of at least 1,500, calling his resignation "heartbreaking."
Gibson cited issues with the town manager and staffing shortages as some of the things that led to the difficult decision. The police department should have eight full-time officers, but Gibson said they've been operating with five for the last few months.
"It was just a lot of stress on a lot of us trying to maintain and keep coverage," Gibson said. "This is heartbreaking. The community has always been so tremendously so supportive of us."
Gibson confirmed, a total of five police officers, including himself, the town clerk and the town's utility clerk quit.
For Cates, Gibson's announcement was difficult to accept.