Friday, March 24th 2023, 11:37 pm
The Geary City Council fired the town's police chief after investigators say his wife was caught on camera beating the woman who the chief was allegedly having an affair with.
RELATED: Charges Pursed Against Wife Of Geary Police Chief For Assault Over Alleged Affair
The City Council announced the firing of Police Chief Cecil Harrall during a special meeting Friday night. Of the four council members, three voted in favor of firing Harrall.
The City Council also approved 90 days of severance pay for Harrall. Two council members voted in favor of paying Harrall while two voted against. The mayor then broke the tie by voting in favor of the severance pay.
Following his firing, News 9 approached Harrall at the meeting, but he declined to comment. His wife did not accompany him.
Meanwhile, many residents who attended the meeting said they were glad Harrall was fired.
“You are held at a higher standard and in a much brighter light than any regular citizen," said resident Courtney Ferguson.
“He deserved to be thrown out on his butt," another resident said.
“He’s an embarrassment to the town," said a third resident. "We're not happy with (the severance pay). By at least we got rid of him. "
Harrall was previously placed on a 30-day leave after his wife attacked a city employee - a woman who Harrall was allegedly having an affair with - outside the Geary City Hall, said Blaine County Sheriff Travis Daugherty. The assault happened on Feb. 16.
A surveillance camera captured the incident, which showed the suspect pushing the other woman to the ground. The attacker then appeared to say a few words to the victim before repeatedly punching the victim's head and kicking her.
The victim appeared to cover her face and did not fight back, the video showed. The assault lasted about 50 seconds before the attacker gave the victim an opportunity to get up. As the victim was walking toward the building, the attacker threw something at her. The two women then both walked into the building together.
Daugherty said a concerned citizen told him about the assault. The sheriff said his investigator then talked with the victim, who admitted she had an affair with the police chief.
Daugherty said the Sheriff's Office obtained a search warrant and went to Harrall's home to retrieve Harrall's city-issued phone for evidence. But Daugherty said Harrall's wife told the investigator that she destroyed the phone.
The Sheriff's Office was recommending charges of assault and battery and destruction of evidence against Harrall's wife. But because the misdemeanor attack did not happen in front of law enforcement, the case must go through the District Attorney's Office before an arrest can be made, said Daugherty.
Daugherty said the Sheriff's Office did submit affidavits for an arrest warrant to the District Attorney's Office. The case was then referred to the District Attorney's Office in Canadian County in order to ensure there was no conflict of interest, Daugherty said. As of the time of Harrall's firing, Daugherty still had not heard back from the DA's Office on whether the case would move forward.
Meanwhile, Daugherty said he was eager to see who the next Geary police chief will be.
"There are several cases that we are having to carry the load for because there is a lot of mistrust in this town. So my office is having to handle things that a normal police department would handle in Geary," said Daugherty. "So I look forward to hopefully having some help with that and establishing a good working relationship so that we can help town of Geary."
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