The Trion Town Council met last night in an open hearing into the demotion of former Trion Police Chief Charles Latta. Latta was represented at the hearing by Rome attorney David Guldenschuh who argued that Latta was demoted without just cause by Trion Mayor Ben Perry. Latta’s attorney began by calling Mayor Ben Perry as his first witness and attempted to get the mayor to give specific reasons for his decision to demote the former police chief. Mayor Perry refused to give any specific reason, stating several times that he had simply lost confidence in the former police chief’s ability to run the Trion Police Department. Latta’s attorney then called several witnesses in defense of Latta. They included several local law enforcement officials including Summerville Police Chief Stan Mosely, Commander Sizemore of the Georgia State Patrol Post in Rome and also other witnesses such as County EMS Director Herbert Dodd and former Trion Mayor Lanny Thomas. After nearly an hour of hearing from Latta’s attorney, the council met in executive session to discuss whether or not to uphold the Mayor’s decision to demote Latta. After meeting for around 20 minutes the council returned and voted to uphold the Mayor’s decision by a vote of 3-2.
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