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Randolph County town disbands police department

(Police Reports - Photo Illustration/MetroCreative)

BEVERLY, W.Va. — A Randolph County town’s police department has been disbanded, a city official confirmed Wednesday.

A Beverly Town Council member, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Inter-Mountain newspaper that the council voted 5-0 during a special meeting on Aug. 26 to dissolve the Beverly Police Department and lay off the town’s two active police officers.

“It all came down to lack of funding. It wasn’t making any money like they thought it was going to,” the council member said. “It got to the point it was hurting the town, and before it got any worse, we decided to shut it down before anything drastic happened.”

Messages left for Beverly Mayor Andy Burns and former Beverly Police Chief Allen Vanscoy seeking comment for this article were not returned.

“The entire council agreed on canceling the police department,” the council member said. “It was a unanimous decision, and we all agreed it was in the best interest of the town.”

After decades of not having a police officer in Beverly, the town hired Vanscoy as police chief in January 2021.

Vanscoy, a part-time employee, and a full-time police officer, Preston Marsh, were both laid off after the Aug. 26 decision, the council member said.

“Some time down the road, we may look at bringing the police department back,” the council member said. “To be honest, though, if it doesn’t do any better than it has, I don’t see it working out in the future. We have to do what is in the best interest of the town when it comes to everything, and the Town Council felt this move was in the best interest of the town of Beverly.”

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