Brooklet police chief stepping down after officer-involved confrontation

BROOKLET, GA (WTOC) - A small town is facing big decisions about its police department.

Brooklet's police chief will step down Friday following an incident where he chased a resident out of City Hall after she complained about treatment from two officers.

Council took no action against the two officers involved in the situation. With the chief leaving because of the incident, they didn't name any of those officers as interim chief. Instead, they opted to put two city councilmen in charge of the police department.

After 90 minutes of discussion in executive session, the council returned with their pronouncement. It all stems from a recorded roadside confrontation between a driver and two city officers - one on duty one off duty. That started when the driver had picked up a relative's kids from a teen driver who'd driven the kids without car seats. Paige Tuten's son was one of the teens in the car when the off-duty officer confronted them about the children.

"It was awful to think that someone who's supposed to serve and protect my child was actually threatening my child," Tuten said.

Brooklet's mayor defended the two officers and their records.

"Sometimes, the verbiage escalates, and you lose your cool sometimes," Mayor William Hendrix said.

Tuten says the incident wasn't isolated, just the first time it was recorded.

"I've had people personally message me, who live here in Brooklet, who've had the same exact officer do the same exact thing," Tuten said.

The mayor says if there've been complaints, he hasn't heard about them.

The mayor and council took no public comments during Thursday night's meeting, but the mayor says the public is invited and even encouraged to attend next Thursday's meeting.

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