Dispatcher, three police officers resign in Chaffee

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Three members of the Chaffee Police Department and a police dispatcher turned in their resignations at Chaffee City Council's Monday night meeting, one of the council's most senior members said Wednesday.

Ward 4 Councilman Tom Cunningham declined to give officers' names and said the resignations "came as a surprise to us."

One police officer resigned to take a better-paying job in Sikeston, Mo., Cunningham said, and the dispatcher resigned because the hours were undesirable.

Cunningham didn't give a reason for the other two officers' resignations because the resignations were discussed in the council's closed session. The city still has officers in the police force, Cunningham said, but wasn't able to say how many are left at the department.

Police chief Martin Keys was not available for comment Wednesday afternoon.

The department has experienced a high rate of turnover since the beginning of the year.

James Backfisch, an officer involved in a fatal police chase in September, turned in his resignation in February. Another policeman, Daniel Ayers, was fired the same month when he was charged with patronizing prostitution. Those charges were later dropped when witnesses in the case recanted their testimony. Ayers said he was fired because he had threatened to expose wrongdoing in the upper levels of the department.

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