Andrews police officer resigns; town still has 5 on staff

    Andrews – The officer who held down the Andrews Police Department as the lone full-time employee until lawmakers hired a new chief last year has resigned.
    Chad Prather, who served the town as a police officer since October 2018, resigned on May 21. Town officials declined to disclose the reason behind Prather’s resignation, citing state employment laws. Prather also declined to share specifics about the matter.
    “It was great working for Chief Hobgood, and I wish the department the best going forward,” Prather said.
    His resignation leaves Andrews with only five full-time officers, including the police chief, Michael Hobgood.
    “We are running a skeleton crew,” Hobgood said. “Hopefully, we can get up to eight officers to become sufficient. We also need a full-time detective.”
    While town officials are working on finalizing the 2020-21 fiscal year budget, they are committed to hiring new officers as soon as
possible.
    In addition to filling the position left vacant by Prather, aldermen have already approved the expenditures needed to hire an additional officer. Officials are also contemplating the addition of a third officer within the next 12 months.
    “The board of aldermen is dedicated to improving the safety of our citizens; they are looking to increase our police force by budgeting for additional officers,” Town Administrator Sandy Dobson said. “They’re also looking for grants to supplement the police department’s budget.”