A North Carolina town has voted to terminate the contract of a Black town manager who made headlines after the entire police force resigned due to her hire.
On Tuesday (August 30), the Kenly Town Council voted 3-2 to fire Justine Jones from the position she held for about three months, CNN reports.
The move to oust Jones followed an independent investigation that was conducted after former police chief Josh Gibson alleged that the new town manager was creating a "toxic and hostile work environment."
Jones, his entire police department, and other city officials resigned from their position last month following the claims.
Residents of Kenly were seemingly divided on whether the mass resignation came down to a "race issue" given that Jones is Black and the town's police department was entirely made up of white people, per CNN.
Jones issued a statement Wednesday (August 31) regarding the investigation that led to her termination.
"While all related information is certainly a matter of public concern, the allegations made against me were timely and thoroughly vetted by independent sources and there was no such finding of wrongdoing by me or my office," Jones said.
"The decision to not communicate the entire story and publicly share the findings of the report is most unfortunate," she noted.
"Although I was not able to accomplish all the goals in progress in the short time I served the Town, given my untimely departure, my commitment to leaving Kenly better than I found it is an accomplishment I will always be proud of," the ex-town manager said.
"I continue to wish nothing but the best for Kenly."
According to CNN, the position remains vacant, and it's unclear when it will be filled.
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