There seems to be some drama brewing between the Alexandria Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the Alexandria Police Department, after a fiery exchange last Friday night between the police chief and a couple of board members.

The exchange occurred at the end of Police Chief K.D. Smith’s monthly police report to the board. Before ending his report, Smith addressed the board, saying, “It’s come to my knowledge that there are some board members that are looking to defund or get rid of the police department, or get rid of me. I would just like to know if there is any validity to that. Not for my sake but for the officer’s sake. Because, we’ve got one in particular; this is her job and her livelihood.”

It was then that alderman Bobby Simpson spoke up and said, “I guess you’re talking about me J.D.”

Simpson would go on to say, “Whenever we hired that young lady over yonder, I told her specifically not to be driving the (patrol) car back and forth to White County. Is she driving it?”

“No,” Smith answered, followed by Simpson and Luke Prichard proclaiming that to be a lie.

“She has been driving it to Smithville,” said Prichard.

“She drives it to Smithville,” Smith answered back.

“That’s not what you told us,” Prichard said, with Simpson adding, “And the other boy (officer) is telling that he is driving his to Dunlap.”

Again, Smith denied the claim.

The exchange continued with Simpson and Prichard claiming that the chief told them the officers would not be driving patrol cars outside the town limits.

“No, they didn’t drive them because we didn’t have enough vehicles. We have enough now,” Smith explained.

“Well, we don’t want them driving them,” said Prichard, with Simpson agreeing.

“Well, if they are going to park theirs, I’ll park mine because it’s not fair for them,” Smith stated. “But here’s the thing, and I want everybody to understand this and I addressed this with the mayor, I have been in this situation before. If there is an emergency where we have to call officers out from their residence. If they get in their personal car and they are responding here, they are trying to get here as quick as they can. If they get in an accident they are under the city’s insurance at that time.”

Smith once again asked his original question, “I’m just asking if there is any validity?”

“Yes, there is,” Simpson replied.

 “Is it the department in whole or is it me? Because if it’s me don’t punish the officers,” Smith said.

“It’s mostly you,” said Simpson.

“We could sit down and have a chat, Bobby. Anytime you like,” Smith answered.

The chief and the two aldermen went back and forth for several more minutes, arguing over the state of the police department office, and the morale of the department, with Smith stating, “I’m sorry Bobby but if you can do my job better than I can do it you can have it.”

Mayor Beth Tripp would eventually put an end to the arguing, saying, “We are going to go past. I had already talked to you (Smith) about that anyway. You believe in rumors, but that ain’t going to work with me.”

“All he asked for was validity and he has been treated disrespectfully just as much as you guys believe you are,” said alderman Sherry Tubbs. “You all walked out on a meeting with him.”

“Yeah, when he is yelling, hooping, hollering, bitching and griping the whole time,” Prichard added. “That’s all we’ve listened to.”

“You are too. You’re loud and rude,” Tubbs responded.

 “Yeah, I am too because he started in,” Prichard said.

Mayor Beth Tripp chimed in again, saying, “I am in charge of this meeting and we are going to take control. Enough is enough. We have moved past it. No more talking about it.”

The topic ended without any seeming resolution. Earlier, Chief Smith had asked the board for a yes or no vote on renting the former doctor’s office in Alexandria and converting the space into a new police headquarters. No vote was taken.