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Council approves discipline: fire employee accepts written action; two police officers receive reprimand and one-day suspension
Summary
Chief Wells reported a written disciplinary action for a fire employee for tardiness/AWOL; Chief Lawrence Weathers presented two police disciplinary outcomes—Officer Christopher Jackson accepted a written reprimand and retraining; Officer Caleb Croney accepted a one-day suspension without pay; council approved the actions.
Lexington officials reported and the council approved disciplinary actions for one fire employee and two police officers during the meeting.
Fire discipline: Chief Wells told the council an internal allegation found that Franklin Ashford violated policy (UDG 1.11) for tardiness/AWOL related to failure to report for a scheduled assignment. After an internal investigation, the employee met with leadership and accepted a written disciplinary action.
Police disciplines: Chief Lawrence Weathers read two internal formal complaints involving Lexington police officers. Chief Weathers said Officer Christopher Jackson had a formal complaint alleging unsatisfactory performance; Jackson accepted a written reprimand and retraining. In a separate case, Chief Weathers said Officer Caleb Croney (Croney/Croney spelled inconsistently in transcript) had additional documented issues and accepted a one-day suspension without pay. Weathers said that when supervisors investigate complaints they review body-worn camera footage as part of the process and that retraining, coaching, counseling or a performance development plan may follow when supervisors deem it necessary. On the council floor, Councilmembers asked whether retraining would be tied to the behavior and whether complaints originated internally or from citizens; the chief said supervisors sometimes initiate actions and sometimes complaints are citizen-initiated. The council approved the disciplinary recommendations by voice vote.
Why it matters: The city publicly reported personnel actions and described supervisory practices including body-worn camera review, retraining and the potential for performance development plans. Council members acknowledged the importance of accountability and expressed gratitude for supervisory follow-up and behavioral health support in police operations.
What’s next: Supervisors will follow department disciplinary and retraining procedures; council approved the recommended disciplinary actions at the meeting.
