Entire Police Force Fired After Explosive Evidence Room Allegations

A small West Virginia town has been thrown into turmoil after its entire police force was abruptly fired following explosive allegations that someone broke into the department’s evidence room.

The Barrackville Police Department announced Tuesday that every remaining member of the force had been relieved of duty, effective immediately, by Mayor Tom Straight and the Barrackville Town Council.

The stunning decision came after a former police sergeant, identified only as Sgt. Hunt, claimed he arrived at the department Tuesday morning and discovered that the evidence room had apparently been broken into.

Hunt told 12 News that he quickly called a meeting with the mayor and members of the town council to confront them about what he had found.

According to Hunt, council members had previously expressed interest in conducting an inventory of the police department without any officers present. He also alleged that one council member admitted to taking a set of police department keys.

Hunt said that after he accused members of the town government of entering the evidence room, he and the department’s only other remaining officer were immediately removed from active duty.

The department’s police clerk also resigned, Hunt said, leaving Barrackville without a single police employee.

Hunt added that he informed the mayor and town council that he planned to seek whistleblower protection over the incident.

The sudden dismantling of the department came less than a week after Police Chief Zachary Freeburn resigned from his position.

Hunt claimed Freeburn stepped down after repeated disputes with the town council over how much authority council members should have over the police department’s operations.

With the department now effectively shut down, Marion County Sheriff Roger Cunningham said sheriff’s deputies will continue responding to emergency calls in Barrackville.

The town has a population of just 1,288 people.

Residents are now demanding answers as the bitter dispute between former officers and local leaders continues to unfold.

“I just think that the town right now is in a little bit of a mess,” resident Isabella Pham told the West Virginian Times.

“We’ve gone through a lot of different people, and I’m just hoping that at the end of this, we can get a little bit of stability, transparency and security, and get back to having a stronger community versus a town of pitchforks and torches.”