The Columbia Board of Aldermen voted unanimously Tuesday evening to fire Assistant Police Chief Rita Pickering.
The decision came after an hour-long, closed door session between aldermen, Mayor Justin McKenzie, Police Chief Michael Kelly and City Attorney Lawrence Hahn.
After reopening the meeting, Hahn reported that Alderman Mike Smith had made a motion while in closed session to terminate Pickering and it had been seconded by Alderman Wendell Hammond. The board then voted 5-0 in open session to approve the motion, with Smith, Hammond, Anna Evans, Edward Hough and Jason Stringer all in favor.
Kelly declined to comment after the vote, saying he couldn’t discuss personnel matters. McKenzie deferred comment to Hahn, who also declined to comment, citing personnel matters.
Pickering declined to comment when reached by phone after the meeting.
The Lamar County native and three-decade law enforcement veteran had worked for the Police Department since July 2015. She had been captain of investigations before being promoted to assistant chief in April 2018 following the March 2018 resignation of Police Chief Mike Cooper and hiring of Kelly.
The board also voted to terminate part-time employee Adam Whalum.
Caption: Former Columbia Assistant Police Chief Rita Pickering is seen in this file photo.
