Written by Thomas Maddox
I’m not mad Police Chief Teresa Theetge got fired. I’m mad we were left in the dark.
A mayor who had full confidence in the chief earlier this year suddenly doesn’t—and still can’t clearly explain why. The city manager was part of that same leadership. Now both are quiet.
If she was doing a bad job, fire her immediately.
If she wasn’t, she should still be chief today.
Instead, they dragged it out for months, put her on leave, and left the department in limbo while pressure over crime kept building. For a city that says public safety is the top priority, that’s a strange way to show it.
And then—right when City Hall starts taking heat—they act.
After all that time and taxpayer money, what did we actually get?
Buzzwords.
“Inefficiency.”
“Insubordination.”
“Lack of collaboration.”
No specifics. No clear explanation. Just labels.
If the case was strong, we’d see it. If it wasn’t, why did this take months?
There was a version of this I would’ve supported. This wasn’t it.
When a decision gets delayed, then rushed out under pressure, people notice. They connect the dots.
And here’s the part no one’s saying out loud:
She’s probably going to win millions in a lawsuit against the city.
That’s your money.
Which means this was either handled too late—or for the wrong reasons.
Either way, it lands on the mayor and the city manager.
If a police chief can be sidelined for months and then fired without a clear explanation, people start wondering how other decisions are made.
Because this isn’t just about one person. It’s about how leadership operates when no one explains anything.
Right now, it looks like decisions happen when they have to—not when they should.
And while all of this is happening, we’re told crime is the top priority—yet the budget is being cut.
So what was the plan?
Because from the outside, it looks like they let it drag out to shift the blame.
You can’t ask for trust while keeping people in the dark.
And if public safety is the priority, I sure can’t tell.