*The entire police force in the small town of Vincent, Alabama will disband after an officer shared a racist text message.
Per CNN, the city council voted to dissolve the three-member police department over the texts that were sent in June and published a month later online, sparking outrage.
An emergency meeting was held on August 4, during which the police chief and assistant police chief were suspended with pay and the third officer resigned, “leaving the town of nearly 2,000 residents with no active police officers,” the outlet writes.
Per the Associated Press, Vincent Police Department Chief James Srygley and Assistant Chief John L. Goss have been dismissed in connection with the racist text message about slavery.
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Per regional outlet AL.com, in the message, one officer identified as “752″ texts: “What do y’all call a pregnant slave?” The unidentified recipient responds “?” and “752″ answers: “BOGO Buy one, get one free”.
When the official ordinance to dissolve the police department was brought to a vote this month, it passed unanimously. Mayor Latimore confirmed in a statement that the city council passed “a resolution with intent to pass an ordinance to disband the police department.”
“This has torn this community apart. It doesn’t matter what color we are as long as we do right by people,” City Councilman Corey Abrams said during a recent council meeting.
Meanwhile, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office shared a statement that it will now handle “all law enforcement emergency calls for service” within the Vincent area.
“We can bring the police department back; we can go with Shelby County for a year and then bring the police department back once we’ve had time to interview people to find the right people to build positions,” Latimore said, CNN reports.
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