The Town of Alexandria has once again found itself without a police chief after Chief Kenneth (K.D.) Smith was suspended by Mayor Beth Tripp, without pay, pending a hearing to be held Thursday evening. The suspension came last Thursday, when Chief Smith said he was blindsided by a reprimand statement.

“I’ve never had a complaint from a citizen. I’ve never had anything mentioned to me from a board member. This has all blindsided me,” Smith told the Review.

“After she suspended me, of course I had to turn in my badge and my gun, along with the keys to the patrol car, all the rest of the officers got phone calls from City Hall stating that they shouldn’t report to duty until after my hearing. So apparently, they got suspended as well. Then, two hours later, City Hall called them back and told them to report for duty.”

“I was like, ‘Why are you telling everyone else to not come to work? You’re punishing them for something that supposedly I did.’ I haven’t got any documentation or received any complaints, none of the board members have said anything to me, and she (mayor) has not mentioned anything to me about any citizens complaining. I don’t know where all this came from.”

Chief Smith said he was working on a stolen vehicle case when Mayor Tripp informed him of the suspension. “I actually had a couple of cases I was working on, and she came and stuck her head in my office and said, ‘I’m letting you go for the day.’”

Smith said that he asked why he was being sent home and she answered, “Just go.”

“I got up and caught her (mayor) in the hallway and said, ‘Mayor, do we need to talk?’ and she said ‘No.’ She then went in City Hall and shut the door.”

Smith said that later, as he was getting ready to leave, Mayor Tripp had him come into her office to sign a reprimand statement. “I read it and decided that I didn’t agree with any of it. I didn’t sign it and put ‘non-agreeable,’ initialed it, and handed it back to her.”

According to the reprimand notice, Smith is suspended for alleged events on November 30, 2024, December 14, 2024, March 10, 2025, and March 13, 2025. The reprimand stated the following:

“Resident complaints on several occasions telling residents city information. Making workplace intolerable. Making workers and myself (Mayor Tripp) feel unsafe. This isn’t the first time. I gave several warnings on your temper and voice getting loud. Body language shows anger. Not following chain of command on several occasions. Talked with you several times trying to get you to calm down. Many residents have complained to me about you.”

Chief Smith said that he doesn’t expect a good outcome during the hearing. “I’m sure they are either going to vote to put me back to work, or vote to terminate me.”

The Smithville Review attempted to speak with Mayor Beth Tripp, as well as City Attorney Matt Boss, but neither would return our calls.

Smith was hired in September 2024, after the entire police force resigned the previous month. According to former Police Chief Travis Bryant, he had some concerns over the new government and who was running it. Bryant alleged that the final straw was when Mayor Tripp allegedly went behind his back and asked the Sheriff’s Department to attend meetings and patrol the area without telling the him. Bryant said that it was then that he and other officers decided to resign.

A special hearing will be held Thursday night, March 20 at 7 p.m. at city hall to rule of Chief Smith’s case.