5 members of US police force quit as black mayor elected

Several residents of a small south-east Missouri town said they do not believe the abrupt resignations of five of six members of the police force after the long-time mayor, a white man, lost to a black woman have anything to do with racism.

Mayor Tyus Byrd, 40, who beat longtime incumbent Randall Ramsey, has not yet released a formal statement on the controversy, but did address it briefly after being sworn in last week.

“Moving forward, I’ll get with the board. I’ll speak here in a little bit,” she told KFVS-TV, “and we’ll talk and discuss those issues that have taken place today. And we’ll try to get things in order for the city”.