City officials in Alexandria engage in a tense debate during monthly meeting

Story by Mickey Sandlin, February 2nd

The mayor of Alexandria and aldermen joined together for their monthly meeting, only to launch into a tense exchange.

During Friday night’s meeting, police chief K.D. Smith inquired about rumors regarding the status of funding for his department. Rumors were that there were going to be efforts made to defund the police department, resulting in either the entire disbandment of the department or the firing of their chief.

Smith launched his inquiry at the end of his monthly report to the board, asking about any validity to talk about defunding.

Alexandria city leaders, including mayor Beth Tripp and the six aldermen launched into a heated exchange with Smith.

The debate covered topics including police driving their patrol cars to their personal homes, the understaffing of officers, the morale of the officers and his own job security. 

The understaffing of officers ties back to last August’s election, when police officers resigned in response to mayor Beth Tripp’s instatement.

Alderman Bobby Simpson confirmed during the debate that there had been conversations regarding defunding of the department.

The discussion ended with Mayor Tripp asking for the discussion to continue. There has not been any announcement confirming defunding for the police department from the mayor’s office.