South suburban Chicago mayor: Village 'parting ways' with police chief due to performance issues

FLOSSMOOR, Ill. (CBS) -- Flossmoor Mayor Michelle Nelson said Thursday that the village is "parting ways" with police Chief Jerel Jones because of his performance.

This comes days after hundreds of Jones' supporters packed the Flossmoor Village Hall Monday night, demanding answers. At the time, neither the mayor nor village leaders had spoken publicly about Chief Jones' possible termination. But word got out.

On Thursday, Nelson wrote to the community that personnel matters should not be publicly discussed. Still, she noted that there had been misinformation amid intense discussion on Chief Jones, and thus, a statement was now warranted.

"To start, Chief Jones is likable, and he and the Department have been focused on community building. With all the misinformation in public, it is understandable that residents are speaking up. It has been disappointing, however, that the public conversation has been so devoid of facts," the mayor wrote. "So, because this matter is tearing at our community, I need to take this opportunity to provide residents with some context based on valid, credible information, not a rumor."

Nelson wrote that the issue with Jones was "strictly about performance."

After days of speculating whether the Flossmoor police chief would stay or go, the official word came down Thursday that he was fired.

On Monday, Jones expressed that he hoped to remain in his post.

"I am a mayoral appointment," said Jones. "But my heart is to be here and to serve as chief of police."

At the village board meeting on Monday night, residents and officers from neighboring suburbs came out to support Chief Jones – and, in some instances, brought up issues of race. They were looking for answers to what Jones did to lead to his possible departure and further appeared to be of the impression that Deputy Police Chief Keith Taylor was also to be removed.

"If we get rid of two Black men, this is a public lynching," a man said at the meeting.

"You've done us a favor. We've been trying for 20 years to pull our community together," another man said at the meeting. "You've made it happen. Thank you."

Kevin Dorsey is Flossmoor's community relations commissioner, whom Mayor Nelson appointed.

"Have the residents lost confidence in Chief Jones?" Dorsey said Thursday. "I don't think that's the case."

Dorsey attended and spoke in support of the police chief on Monday.

"I asked Monday - let's take a moment. Let's pump the brakes," he said.

In the message to the community Thursday, Nelson said there was never any plan to remove Taylor. She reiterated that for Jones, performance was the issue.

"When a leader of a critical department is not meeting expectations, the ripple effect can adversely impact the entire department, and the organization, and even the community," Nelson wrote.

Nelson wrote that village leadership had expressed concern to Jones numerous times, though she declined to be specific in the message.

"What I can tell you is there have been serious operational and administrative lapses under his watch. In totality, I believe these lapses mean that our residents are not receiving the level of public safety services they expect and deserve," Nelson wrote. "Based on that conclusion, it has become clear that it is best for the Village if all parties part ways."

Dorsey criticized the claim that the firing was in the community's best interests.

"This quick movement to terminate is exactly the opposite – 'We're ignoring you. We're ignoring you and actually telling you we're doing it on your behalf,'" Dorsey said.

The village never said what the issues with Chief Jones' performance were. But CBS 2 has learned the chief, mayor, and village manager have not sat in the same room for a discussion for several weeks.

On Monday, CBS 2 asked Jones about reports from some at the Flossmoor Village Hall, who said the mayor tried to have reviews with him but refused to sit down and have a review.

Jones declined to comment on those claims on Monday.

"I am not at liberty to discuss, again, matters as it pertains to my status as the police chief here," he said.

It remains unclear if the reasoning behind the mayor's decision will ever be known.

"Without seeing it, we're still in the dark with this," Dorsey said.

It is also unclear who is now stepping in as chief, but the search for a new one begins immediately.