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Watonga Interim
WATONGA – Interim Watonga Police Chief Aaron Vales has been placed on paid administrative leave, city officials said, months after former Chief Shawn Kays was fired.
Watonga City Manager Karrie Beth Little confirmed Vales is on leave but declined to comment further. The Watonga Republican first learned of the action late last week; Little confirmed that it occurred recently but didn’t give an exact day.
Vales, a WPD veteran, was selected to lead the department on an interim basis after his former boss Kays was fired in mid-June. Kays had a protective order filed against him that day, and was later criminally charged for a separate incident.
Kays had been placed on leave three weeks before his firing.
The city is currently in the process of hiring a new police chief. Little began interviewing candidates last week. Reached by phone
Reached by phone Wednesday morning, Vales declined to comment without his attorney’s OK.