Rolla’s police chief fired after refusing to resign

ROLLA, N.D. (AP) - The police chief of Rolla in far northern North Dakota has been fired.

Mayor Scott Mitchell moved to remove Joe Boehm at a City Council meeting on Oct. 18 after the police chief said he would not resign at the mayor’s request that morning.

Mitchell cited the need to go “in a different direction” in his motion.

The Bismarck Tribune reports council members voted 4-1 to remove Boehm. The former police chief says he is looking at other jobs and talking to attorneys.

Boehm says the council removed him as he was trying to investigate an $800 overage on a police sergeant’s phone, including many hours of personal phone calls.

Boehm had been Rolla’s police chief since March 2015. Sgt. Chris Wright has been acting chief of police since Tuesday.

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Information from: Bismarck Tribune, http://www.bismarcktribune.com