Shawn Kays has been reassigned as a patrol officer, vacating the department’s highest office
Shawn Kays, the Watonga police officer who had served as the department’s chief since 2018, has been reassigned as a patrol officer.
The move comes two weeks after Kays was placed on paid administrative leave while his position and employment were under review. It leaves Watonga without a police chief or an assistant chief of police.
Kays told the Watonga Republican that he actually requested to step down as chief after his leave, saying it’s the only way he would return to the department. Watonga interim city administrator Larry Mitchell, who oversaw Kays’ review, characterized the decision as “mutual” and agreed that Kays had “indicated he no longer wanted to be the chief.”
Kays said he made the decision because Watonga “just doesn’t know how to treat a chief,” and that he is a victim of “small-town politics.”
Mitchell said he and Kays discussed the demotion in person on Friday. Mitchell informed the Watonga City Council about the decision in an email, but the email didn’t elaborate on the reasons behind the decision, according to a person familiar with its contents.
Mitchell also declined on Monday to explain why Kays was placed on leave and subsequently demoted, saying he can’t comment on internal personnel matters.
Kays recently vacationed in South Carolina. Kays claims he was placed on leave after someone created a fake Facebook profile and a defamatory post about the woman he was on vacation with.
Kays is now taking two weeks of paid vacation, after which he said he plans to report back to work as a patrolman. He will report to Sgt. Aaron Vales, Mitchell said, who is handling the department’s administrative duties in the absence of a chief.
For now, the Watonga Police Department is left without its two leadership positions filled. The department is currently undergoing a review from Oklahoma Municipal Management Services; it is not an investigation, but rather a review of department policies and procedures that will be assessed in a report later this year.
Former Sapulpa Police Chief Rick Rumsey is heading that review, Mitchell said, and Mitchell hopes that Rumsey and OMMS executive director Steve Whitlock might help Watonga locate an interim police chief while the city looks to fill the position.
The city was already in the process of finding and hiring an assistant chief of police and is also hiring for normal officer positions, Mitchell said.
Mitchell added that he doesn’t intend to hire Watonga’s next police chief himself. He has held the interim city manager position for well over a year, but the city is currently in the process of interviewing applicants for that job, as well. Mitchell hopes the next, permanent city manager can make the police department’s crucial hires.
The Blaine County Sheriff’s Office has been providing extra assistance to the department since Kays’ leave began, Mitchell added.