Council fires police chief

By Staff
Jason Houston FCT Managing Editor
Reb Boatwright was removed as police chief of Red Bay during Monday night's city council meeting, a move he said he believes was politically motivated.
Boatwright said the new council took action at Monday's meeting to re-appoint the city clerk and fire chief, but declined to re-appoint him as police chief. Instead, the council appointed Lt. Eddie Chandler as acting police chief and voted to take applications for a new police chief.
The council that took office at Red Bay is all-new, with all five incumbents being voted out. Mayor Tommy Nelson ran unopposed for re-election.
Boatwright had been chief at Red Bay for seven years. He needed just six more months on the job to be able to retire with state benefits. He said he is currently looking for a job in a municipality with state retirement benefits.
When asked if he believed the move was politically motivated, Boatwright said, "I would think so. It's all politics."
Nelson was unavailable for comment Thursday at press time.