Morrison Police Chief allegedly being fired for not writing enough tickets

I have it from a trusted source that the Morrison Police Chief, George Mumma Jr., is supposedly going to be fired today for "not putting revenue first", i.e. not writing enough tickets, and the rest of the members of the police force are upset about this because they liked him. Apparently, the number one question for hiring the new chief will be "Will you meet a ticket quota?" I do hope our local media will investigate this further, because if this is truly the case, it seems an awful reason to fire a police officer.

Remember this series back in 2015 by Jeremy Jojola and Katie Luntz on "Citation Nation" that featured Morrison along with other towns in Colorado that wrote suspiciously large amounts of tickets? That was before Chief Mumma, who was hired in 2017.



Town of Morrison Police Department

The Chief is appointed by the Town Manager to perform all administrative, supervisory and professional duties in planning, coordinating and directing the activities of the Morrison Police Department. The Police Chief has the same powers that an elected Sheriff has by law and shall be the final authority in all matters concerning the police department. All members of the department are subordinate to the Police Chief.

Chief's Message
About the Police Department

Today the Morrison Police Department operates with a Police Chief, eight full-time officers, six part-time officers working one day a week, and eight reserve officers who volunteer one day a week.

Another story from Nov 2019 by the Canyon Courier (and this is why it's important to support our local newspapers - Deborah Swearingen has been attending Morrison Town meetings and reporting on what's been discussed), which adds more context to this situation:
Proposed Morrison budget reflects police chief’s plans to change department’s focus

The Town of Morrison’s proposed 2020 budget includes a $300,000 decrease in the Police Department budget as the police chief tries to strike a better balance between writing traffic tickets and solving crimes.

Morrison is often known for its officers who sit on U.S. 285 and C-470 writing traffic tickets.

“You’ve never been in this position before because you were never doing any police work. You were generating revenue. I’m trying to balance that, and it’s a struggle,” Police Chief George Mumma, who was hired as chief in 2017, told the board at its Nov. 19 meeting.

FYI, there is a virtual Morrison Board of County Commissioners meeting tonight at 6pm. The public is welcome to attend and comment; the police department has asked to be on the agenda to address their feelings and concerns about firing Chief Mumma. Agenda and meeting link are posted here:
town.morrison.co.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_08182020-612

FOX31 is looking into this. If anyone who has more direct knowledge of the situation/people involved would like to be interviewed, please DM me and I will send you the producer's contact info.
Thank you!

FOX31 contacted me and said they'd be airing their story about this tonight at 5pm.

FOX31 delayed airing their story because they are hoping to talk to more people (including possibly the former Chief). It might be Monday now, I'll post when I hear more from them.

In the meantime, the Canyon Courier covered this here:
Town of Morrison parts ways with police chief
George Mumma had been with the department since October 2017
By Deborah Swearingen
Friday, August 21, 2020 at 8:15 pm

Police Chief George Mumma and the Town of Morrison have parted ways.

Mumma’s final day with the department was Aug. 12, according to Morrison police secretary Jennifer Sponnick. The reason for his sudden departure remains unclear, and several Morrison police officers expressed their confusion over the matter during the Aug. 18 Morrison Town Board meeting.

“We just feel like it was an unjust departure,” an officer said during the virtual meeting. “We all stand behind this. … We’re here to do our jobs no matter what happened, (but) it kind of came and took our legs out from under us.”

Although Mayor Sean Forey and other members of the board thanked the officers for their work and for taking the time to speak at the meeting, the town hasn’t been quick to divulge any details on the matter.

I listened in to the Morrison Board of County Commissioners meeting last week. It was a heartening surprise to see so many people signed on who had changed their Zoom screen names to "I Support Mumma." I also learned that Mumma was nominated for Colorado's Police Chief of the Year, which is quite an honor. His officers spoke of their appreciation of his efforts to improve morale in the department and the reputation of the department with the community at large.

Morrison Police Department (CO) @MorrisonPolice 48m
Replying to @djswearingen
Thank you for covering the unceremonious departure of Chief Mumma. We as a department could not be more proud of the change he brought to our Dept No words can express his accomplishments and we will continue to work toward the balance of policing within our community. #MPDStrong