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Alabama

Alabama town abolishes police department after officer's slavery text surfaces

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office will provide emergency services to Vincent after it disbanded its police department

By Michael Lee Fox News
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An Alabama town has disbanded its police department after texts between officers joking about slavery surfaced on social media.

"This has torn this community apart," City Councilman Corey Abrams said during a council meeting Thursday, according to the Associated Press. "It doesn’t matter what color we are as long as we do right by people."

Abrams' comments comeas Vincent, Alabama Mayor James Latimore confirmed that Vincent Police Chief James Srygley and Assistant Chief John L. Goss were fired after text messages allegedly sent between the city's police officers featured a joke about a pregnant slave.

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Vincent Alabama sign with American and Alabama flag displayed

An American flag and Alabama state flag are on display near an underpass, in the town of Vincent, Alabama. (City of Vincent)

"What do y’all call a pregnant slave?" asked a text message by someone identified only as "752."

An unidentified respondent texts back "?" in one message and "?? in a second, before "752" responds with "BOGO Buy one, get one free."

The texts later surfaced on social media, with Latimore on Tuesday saying "appropriate action has been taken" against the officer who was allegedly behind the text. By Thursday, the city council had voted to disband their police department.

Officer Lee Carden, the only other officer employed by the city, reportedly turned in his resignation shortly after the vote to disband the department.

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The texts were Shelby County Sheriff’s Office on Friday, along with a vow to stand with the city and provide "emergency law enforcement related service to the citizens (of Vincent) at this time." 

The city, located in central Alabama, has a population of just under 2,000 as of the 2020 census.

The City of Vincent's website includes a section with information about the town's police department, but as of Sunday the page was blank.

A Fox News request for comment from the city was not immediately returned.

Michael Lee is a writer for Fox News. Prior to joining Fox News, Michael worked for the Washington Examiner, Bongino.com, and Unbiased America. He has covered politics for more than eight years.