A standing-room-only crowd of residents, media, and the affected officers attended the special meeting of the Cohutta Town Council, council member and Vice Mayor Shane Kornberg told The Associated Press.
The officers were reinstated immediately and will also receive back pay, Kornberg said.
Cohutta Mayor Ron Shinnick was seen shaking hands with members of the Cohutta Police Department on April 30, 2026.
Earlier this week, a sign posted in the small town of about 930 residents announced that the police department had been dissolved “per Mayor Ron Shinnick.” The notice directed residents needing assistance to contact a county non-emergency number.
The jobs of the police chief and roughly 10 officers were terminated as of Wednesday morning. Officials have not publicly disclosed the exact reasons behind the decision.
Shinnick said the action was taken due to comments officers had made on social media.
Former Sgt. Jeremy May said the dispute stemmed from a complaint he and other officers had raised involving the mayor’s wife, Pam Shinnick, who previously served as town clerk.
“This all comes to personal vendetta from the mayor, and I wholeheartedly believe that,” May told WRCB-TV. “We took a stand for transparency, and in result, every one of them has lost their jobs.”
The town’s attorney, Bryan Rayburn, told the council that the officers’ firings did not follow the town charter, which requires 30 days’ notice before employees can be suspended or removed.
Vice Mayor Shane Kornberg then took over the meeting.
The council passed an ordinance reinstating the officers, along with another measure that prevents the mayor from firing them for the next 30 days.
Lawmakers also voted to table the remainder of the meeting’s agenda “for the foreseeable future,” which included consideration of removing Mayor Shinnick.
During the period when no Cohutta officers were on duty, the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office said deputies would assist residents if needed.
Cohutta, located just south of the Tennessee border, is about 100 miles northwest of Atlanta.
Several residents said Friday evening they attempted to livestream the meeting on social media, but weak cell service in the area prevented them from doing so.
