It was standing room only on Thursday evening, when the Newton City Council sit to discuss doing away with the Newton Police Department and turning the responsibility of keeping the town safe and secure over to Newton County Sheriff Robert Burby and his men and at the end of the day the move to do away with the department was voted down unanimously.
First to speak was Newton County Precinct 1 Constable Colton Havard, who said that there was a shortage of all law enforcement in Newton and Newton County and that every officer was needed. Havard went on to say that as an officer of the law, he gained much of his working knowledge from his days of working for the Newton Police Department and that it was a great group of men. Havard called on the council to keep the police department in place and for everyone to work together.
Former Newton County Sheriff Billy Rowles also spoke. Rowles, who has a long history in law enforcement, serving as sheriff of Jasper County, interim police chief in Newton, as well as a State Trooper and constable, called on everyone to come together and work for a common goal. Rowles said, “If I was police chief or an officer with the department, and knew they were trying to get rid of my job, I would be hostile.” Rowles said, “Everyone involved, should go in a room, lock the door and work this all out.” Rowles brought a large round of applause when he called on everyone both from the police department and the sheriff’s department to come together.
Also speaking in support of the community coming together was Joe Miller who is a former pastor in Newton.
Newton Mayor Mark Bean said at the beginning of the meeting that he was not in favor of doing away with the police department. However, he was the only one that spoke about Newton County Sheriff Robert Burby, saying “The sheriff is not a team player.”
In the end it was Newton City Council member Joni Miller who made the motion not to disband the police department. The motion was immediately seconded by councilman John Pollock and the measure passed unanimously.
An associated item on the agenda to pay the Newton County Sheriff’s Department to provide police services within the City of Newton also was voted down unanimously.
Early on in his address, Billy Rowles asked, “Who’s idea was it to do away with the police department?”. However, Rowles never received an answer to his question that remains a mystery.
Following the meeting, Newton Police Chief Will Jackson said he was elated at the number of people that had come out to support him and his officers. Jackson said, “I will continue to serve the community and do my job the best I can. We will move forward and try to put this behind us.”
Sheriff Robert Burby was not at the meeting that begin at 6:00 pm.
https://www.kjas.com/news/local_news/article_2e608daa-fe56-11ec-a8e0-cb0d1fe50c07.html