Monroe Dispatch - No Struggle, No Progress

It has been a whirlwind few days after Friday Ellis attended his first city council meeting as Monroe's mayor. Within mere days after his council meeting, Ellis fired interim Police Chief Reggie Brown and replaced him with the man that Brown replaced as chief of police. Former Police Chief Eugene Ellis was brought back on board after retiring earlier in the year, "stepping in at an important time, as we continue our process and search for a permanent chief of police", Mayor Ellis said in a statement. Brown's termination as chief came on the heels of Mayor Ellis' failed attempt to have the police chief exam (that took place July 23 as scheduled) delayed, saying that more applicants would have an opportunity to qualify even as any prospective candidates watched as the deadline expired. The civil service board voted 3-2 against Ellis, handing him a defeat before he was sworn in. Brown had been serving as interim chief since January and he was on the list with three other candidates to take the exam that Ellis wanted delayed. Brown's interim position as chief was set to expire on July 31, but the board voted to extend it an additional 90 days. Ellis relieved Brown of his position on July 31. It should be noted that Ellis, as mayor, has at his discretion to keep Brown pending the results of the exam or replace him. He chose the latter. That may also explain any guesswork as to whether Mayor Ellis would have promoted Brown to the permanent position of chief if he was found to be the most qualified of the other candidates. Brown's termination, however, takes out the speculation. Perhaps it was also getting rid of a Mayo holdover that didn't fit in Ellis' administration. Though Mayor Ellis lauded Brown for "a fine job" as interim chief, it appeared that with Mayo's defeat, it was only a matter of time before Brown would be gone. Earlier in the year a group filed a suit against the city, requesting the internal, investigatory files of certain police officers, past/present; Chief Brown was the only individual named in that request. The big question was why only Brown? Alleged sources believe that Brown was only targeted because of his affiliation with Mayor Jamie Mayo. According to sources, the group who filed for the investigation thought that they could find information about Chief Brown's early career as an officer and make the information public. That information on Brown would then tarnish Mayo in the upcoming election. The only information found on Brown was that he had to file a suit/appeal to ensure that he could take the chief's exam when he was deemed unqualified several years ago. Nonetheless, Eugene Ellis answered the call to once again serve, as he has had a long-distinguished career in law enforcement. Mayor Friday Ellis said returning Chief Ellis is "stepping in" at an important time, without explaining what the "importance" was. Is it to get the person he wants or more importantly, who others want? Is it about undoing the Mayo legacy, as the former mayor did have some political enemies? Mayor Ellis is still in the infant days of his mayoral life, but he may have to grow up quicker than he realizes, because those "visions" of hope that he made, will have to come to fruition sooner rather than later.

Interim Police Chief Reggie Brown