Georgia police department resigns in full: Milner’s chief and five officers quit after the city council confirmed on Monday, 26 October 2026, that Mayor Craig Timmons placed a tracker on the chief’s vehicle.
According to Atlanta News First, City Manager Tausha Grose told the Milner City Council on Monday, 19 October 2026, that the entire full-time police department and most reserve officers had resigned. Grose announced her own resignation at the same meeting. The department’s last day was Wednesday, 28 October 2026, and Grose’s final day was Friday, 30 October 2026.
Milner is a city of fewer than 1 000 people about 45 miles south of Atlanta. Its police department consisted of Police Chief Lamar Bunn and five full-time officers, backed by volunteer reserve officers, most of whom also left. The Lamar County Sheriff’s Office is expected to provide policing in the department’s absence.
Why the Georgia police department resigned
On Monday, 26 October 2026, the council confirmed reports that Timmons personally paid for a tracker placed on the police chief’s vehicle and for a camera near City Hall. The council’s statement gave the mayor’s reason for acting:
“Beginning in some time of late August, early September, Mayor Timmons saw what he believed to be a problem with personnel work hours,” the council said.
The council said Timmons did not bring the concern to the council first, as the city charter requires, and that he also placed a camera on private property facing City Hall. Asked at the Monday, 19 October 2026 meeting whether he was responsible for the tracker, Timmons answered:
“I have no comment,” Timmons said.
Chief Lamar Bunn on why the Georgia police department left
Bunn said he stepped down partly because he no longer trusted the mayor and the city council. He also said he consulted an outside agency about whether the tracker broke the law or violated his rights.
Bunn said the other officers made their own decisions. Resignation letters obtained through Georgia’s open records law cited concerns about the mayor’s judgment and decision-making, and one departing officer pointed to limits on off-duty work. Bunn said:
“I didn’t ask them to do it,” Bunn said. “It’s not like I said, ‘Hey guys, let’s quit.’ No, I didn’t do that. So, I don’t know what needs to happen from here.”
City Manager Tausha Grose told the council on Monday, 19 October 2026, through tears that the entire full-time department had resigned. She also blamed the mayor in her resignation letter, which a Georgia broadcaster obtained:
“I cannot condone his recent actions and his lack of respect for my position,” Grose wrote.
Milner without its Georgia police department
By Tuesday, 3 November 2026, Milner had named Emily Woodmaster, the former Baldwin city manager, as interim city manager, and it is working to hire a new police chief. One police officer remains. Woodmaster said Timmons contacted her after the departures:
“He was like, ‘We had our police department leave and our city manager, and we need someone to come in quickly,'” Woodmaster said.
Skip Seda, a longtime Milner resident and former council member, said he plans to push for Milner to become unincorporated, arguing that the city’s charter requires a police department. He said the police force is about the only difference between living in the city and living in the county.
Sources
- Atlanta News First, Georgia city's entire police force resigns
- Atlanta News First, Milner appoints interim city manager after previous officeholder resigns
- WRDW, Georgia mayor's secret tracker on chief's car triggers mass exit
- WSB-TV, Entire police force, city administrator resigns in Georgia city
- Blavity, This Georgia city just lost its entire police force, here's why
- Officer.com, Ga. police chief, entire department quit over trust issues with town leadership
- Milner City Council, statement on the tracker and camera
