Miner mayor resigns; police chief suing Board of Aldermen over alleged abuses

MINER, Mo. -- A feud between the Miner Board of Aldermen and the city's elected police chief has spilled into the courts and caused the mayor to tender his resignation.

On Tuesday, Miner Mayor Darren Chapman submitted his resignation.

"It is with regret and mixed emotions that I feel it is time for me to resign as mayor for the City of Miner," Chapman said in a statement. "For the past four years I feel as if I have done everything in my power to make the City a better place to live, however, Miner will never change. It is clear with recent events that the Board does not have the City's best interest in mind and I no longer wish to take part in the direction the City is headed."

The recent events Chapman referred to involve a feud between the board and Miner's elected police chief, Chris Griggs. On Nov. 16, Griggs filed a lawsuit against board members Bill James, Frank Tatum, Renee Clark and Michelle Farmer; Miner City Clerk Darrin Skinner; and MCP Investigations & Security of Cape Girardeau.

There are three components to the suit. The first is a preliminary injunction. According to the lawsuit, on or about Nov. 1 the Miner Board of Alderman ordered Miner City Clerk Darrin Skinner, along with MCP Investigations, to remove a computer used by Griggs. The suit said the computer contains confidential and protected information regarding past and present criminal investigations and other protected information.

The Board then met Nov. 5 and passed an ordinance retaining Metro One Investigations to conduct an investigation into Griggs -- background and research, interviews, information gathering and a review of records and documents, including memos, e-mails, text messages, time logs, correspondences to other agencies, reports, video, body cameras, court records and more. A $6,000 retainer was requested with $75 per hour per investigator with two investigators being used. That ordinance was vetoed by Chapman.

The suit alleges Griggs is "unable and hindered to carry out his daily duties without the use of said computer and its contents" and Miner could be "less safe and/or protected without the necessary equipment" used by the police chief.

The suit also claims unless the board members are held in check, they will "impede the effective enforcement of the law, breach confidential information and violate protected constitutional and privacy rights" of Griggs and others whose names may be contained in the computer.

In the second component, Griggs is seeking a declaratory judgement, claiming a number of ordinances have been passed by the board to hinder him in his job and violates his authority as the elected police chief. Among some of the ordinances listed in the suit, one regulates overtime scheduling for employees of the City of Miner and the other regulates the purchasing policy for the procurement of goods and services necessary for the operation of the City of Miner.

The third aspect in the suit is a defamation claim made by Griggs. In the suit, Griggs claims Skinner, Clark, James and Tatum have raised false allegations of impropriety while also stating, "on numerous occasions," Griggs violated laws and Miner ordinances.

Also alleged in the suit is Skinner, Clark, James and Tatum disclosed private text messages between Griggs and his employees to members of the public, defaming his character.

A hearing for the case is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Jan. 22 in front of Judge Scott Thomsen.

"I love what I do. I love my job, and I love serving my citizens," said Griggs, who was named police chief in 2010 and won his first election in 2011 and every one since. "The city of Miner government becomes overbearing and doesn't allow me to do my job as an elected official the way it needs to be done and we believe they completely overstepped their boundaries.

"We felt like we had to do something, and we thought they would do the right thing. But this went further than we ever intended. It seems like it is unnecessary political warfare."

While the lawsuit is continuing, Griggs said he will continue to do his job. "I just want the citizens of Miner to know that I will continue to be here to serve them," Griggs said.

Meanwhile, the board will meet Tuesday when they are expected to formally accept Chapman's resignation.

"I disagree with everything that is going on," Chapman said. "I tried to better the City and get the City to a better place. I didn't have a personal agenda. There has just been a lot of frustration."

According to Skinner, it is too late to get the mayoral position on the April ballot so a temporary appointment will be made and the mayoral position will be placed on the April 2020 ballot.