Pine Ridge, SC (WLTX) - One Lexington County community is left wondering whether or not they'll have a police department in their town.
Many online have speculated that the police force will no longer be in the town of Pine Ridge.
Paul Kirby, the editor for The Lexington Ledger, says he was at the meeting on Thursday night where full-time police officers for the Pine Ridge Department were let go.
Kirby says there was a special called meeting where two decisions were made: the first being to separate from the police chief of the town, and the second being giving the Police Safety committee the power to hire and fire employees.
He says one officer walked into the room with the council and when he came out, he was in his underclothes.
"When he came out, he was in his underclothes and no longer in uniform. He handed me a letter that said he had been terminated that he was in a probationary period and it gave no cause. He dressed there while his wife was crying and his child was playing the floor and he left after turning in all of his equipment," explained Kirby.
Kirby said another officer went into the room and walked out with a letter and then turned in all of his equipment.
Kirby said he spoke to one citizen of the town that was a spokesperson for one of the officers and said that the officer was a great asset to the community.
Mayor Robert Wells didn't want to go on camera but he spoke with News 19 to give his side of the story. He says that they have released the full-time officers at the department but didn't want to go into specifics for the reasons why. Wells says it is a personnel matter that he is not able to discuss.
Although there are not full-time officers on staff at this time, he says other part-time officers will still be patrolling the area.
News 19 spoke with several people in Pine Ridge Friday. Some say they are not concerned about the police force situation because the town is so small. Meanwhile others say they are concerned about not having full-time officers here because of the response time.
The Lexington County Sheriff's Department did confirm with us they will be patrolling the town until Friday, March 30th.
Mayor Wells says they are not getting rid of there full-time officer positions and may hire some down the road.
He also say the town has always had assistance from the Lexington County Sheriff's Department and shouldn't interfere with the safety of residents in the area.
The town released a statement saying: "It is our expectation that we will have one full-time Certified Class One Officer reporting for duty on March 30, 2018, covering Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Town will also continue to employ part-time Officers, as their schedules permit, to cover evenings and weekends."