East Texas town loses second police chief in 2 years
HAWKINS, Texas (KETK) — During Hawkins’ city council meeting on Thursday, the chief of police resigned, making him the second chief to resign in the span of two years.
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The City of Hawkins held a special council meeting to discuss the resignation of the municipal court judge and the two-week notices of the police chief and two officers.
During the meeting, the city council approved the resignation of the Municipal Court Judge Kyle Waggner before going into executive session for 45 minutes.
When the council members came out, they said they would not accept Chief of Police Guy McKee’s nor the two officers’ resignations because they are “at will employees,” allowing them to resign without requiring the board’s approval.
The council then appointed Eric Tuma to be the interim chief of police, who was the interim chief in 2022 when the previous chief resigned.
“We kind of learn together how to run this place, so basically the transition here is going to be kind of seamless as far as the things that the chief needs to do,” Tuma said.
The council also appointed Debbie Rushing as mayor until May 2024.
“I’m ready to get to work. We got some things that we need to do. I’m very excited about being able to work through some of the division and get everybody on the same page and get Hawkins back to what it was,” Rushing said.
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Hawkins, with a population less than 2,000 people, will be left with a lieutenant, officer sergeant, a part time officer and two reserve officers.
Tuma said that with the department going from eight officers to five, they may have to work longer shifts and ask the Wood County sheriff’s office for help.
“There is a possibility that we may need to reach out to them, you know, we can’t have somebody on the clock for 24 hours,” Tuma said.
KETK has followed the Hawkins city council meeting since 2022 noting an increased turnover rate in Hawkins.
On Jan. 9, the city council met to approve the resignation of the mayor Susan Hubbard and pro-tem Clara Kay. Kay still serves as a council member in Hawkins.
“There are certain pressures on her. There are certain citizens in our communities that don’t want to see the growth, the possibilities the good things,” Kay said.
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In June of 2022, the city council approved the resignation of Hawkins Chief of Police Manfred Gilow. KETK spoke to Gilow who cited budget issues and a shortage of police staff as reasons that led to his resignation.
“The fact that we are understaffed in this police department. I have two openings in the last seven months. We cannot fill them. Nobody wants to do this job anymore and sure enough, not for 15-16 dollars an hour. Target has 25-dollar minimum wage,” Gilow said. “Therefore, I think right now, it’s a time to make a decision.”
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