By Lacey Crisp
MyEyewitnessNews.com
JERICHO, Ark. — The small town of Jericho, Arkansas no longer has a fire department. Its fire chief blames the mayor. The town of 184 has seen its problems in the past month. A city police officer shot the fire chief, Don Payne, in court last month.
Payne says it all stems from the shooting. He says the mayor fired him because he acted inappropriately. Now, all of the town’s firefighters are hanging up their helmets.
“Dear Mr. Don Payne, please be advised that this letter serves as a letter of termination. It has come to my attention of the improper behavior that you have displayed,” Don Payne read the termination letter from Mayor Helen Adams.
Payne is out of the hospital, but is still recovering from a gunshot wound.
“Help me, hold me up a little bit,” as he tried to walk around in his crutches.
He says he feels the mayor has fired him because of the shooting.
“We are turning our uniforms in because she wants us to, not because we want to quit the town. We want to help the town, we always want to help the town,” Payne said.
As a sign of solidarity, the other volunteer firefighters are also calling it quits.
“I’m following my chief. We feel like our services are no longer need out here. I’m going with my chief,” said Jennifer Dorin.
Assistant fire chief Dorin was a police officer for the city in 2005 when an elderly man was trapped inside his burning home. The doors to the fire department were locked, and no one had a key.
“The gentleman lost his life because the firefighters couldn’t get to their equipment,” Dorin said.
She’s afraid the town might see more tragedy without a fire department.
“This city really needs a fire department. Several years ago a gentleman lost his life and that was proven that this city really needs a fire department,” Dorin said.
The firefighters are still walking out. They say they hope something in the troubled town changes.
“Yeah, lock it up,” said one of the firefighters as they walked out of the building for the last time.
Payne would not talk about the shooting because of pending litigation. MyEyeWitnessnews.com tried to contact the mayor, but she was not at home, and did not return phone calls.
The Marion, Arkansas fire department will now cover Jericho if there is a fire.
Prosecutors say they intend to charge Payne with battery on a police officer. The officer faces no charges. The Crittenden County Sheriff’s Department, the investigative agency in this shooting, still has not returned our phone calls.