Every full-time police officer in Milner, Georgia, along with most part-time volunteer officers and the city manager, resigned this week, leaving the small Lamar County town without a functioning police department.
City Manager Tausha Grose delivered the news at a Monday night city council meeting, announcing her own resignation in the same breath.
“It is with my extreme sorrow that our entire full-time police department has resigned, most of our part-time police. And also, I’ve also filed my resignation with the city clerk today,” Grose said.
Police Chief Lamar Bunn, who led the department, told the council he had discovered a tracking device on his personal truck that he said city hall had placed there in secret, paid for with personal funds and without informing the city council or his supervisor. He also said he had been falsely accused of having an affair with the city manager.
“City Hall every day, it’s got a tracker on my truck, it was bought with personal funds and placed on my vehicle without the city council or my supervisor, city administrator knowing it,” Bunn said. “Here’s the thing, still I’m looking for a glimmer of hope to stay in the city. I don’t know why. It’s because I’ve devoted my life to Lamar County. 15, 16 years with the sheriff’s office and now I’m back here in this county. My dad was here in ’74 policing with his police department. I got roots here.”
Mayor Craig Timmons addressed the concerns at the meeting and said he hoped the matter could still be resolved. City officials had previously clashed over police overtime pay and a proposal to stop officers from using city vehicles for part-time jobs, but those disputes were not given as the reason for the mass resignations.
In a resignation letter obtained by Fox News Digital, Bunn pointed to broader friction with city leadership over legal and ethical matters.
“I have determined that it is in my best interest to step down at this time due to fundamental differences regarding leadership, governance, and ethical alignment. Regrettably, recent actions and governance decisions within city leadership-specifically regarding legal compliance, ethical standards, and core values-have compromised my ability to perform my duties with integrity,” Bunn wrote.
Milner Police Captain Craig Walton went further in his own resignation letter, calling for an outside investigation into the mayor’s conduct.
“I sincerely hope that the residents of Milner and the members of the City Council will take these concerns seriously and pursue an independent investigation into the Mayor’s conduct, including any potential violations of his oath of office or the rights of city employees,” Walton wrote.
Several other police department employees also cited disputes with the mayor and city council in their own resignations. Fox News Digital reached out to Timmons for comment.
