WINFIELD - Winfield Police Chief Harrison Lucas lost his job Monday, and some residents believe a disparaging Facebook post the chief's son made about a teenager killed by a train last week may be at least part of the reason.
Winfield Mayor Randy Barrett told the Gazette on Tuesday that he had fired Harrison Lucas as chief on Monday evening. Lucas had spent 10 years with the Winfield force, and five as chief.
The mayor said he had heard some things about Harrison Lucas last year on the campaign trail that he didn't like. Once Barrett was elected last summer, he said, he gave Harrison Lucas six months to see how things worked out.
"Finally, I said 'I'm done,' " Barrett said. "There were a host of reasons."
Joe Marino, a former Whitesville police officer, will be interim chief, Barrett said. Marino, who was hired part-time last summer, is now the city's only full-time officer. Three other officers work part-time, Barrett said.
Barrett acknowledged he was aware of disparaging comments made by Lucas' son, Payton Lucas, 18, about Jacob Ball, 16, who was hit and killed by a train last week in Hurricane. The mayor would not say if that played a role in Harrison Lucas' firing.
In a profane rant on Payton Lucas' public Facebook page, he laughed at Ball's death. The post has been removed, but many Facebook users captured a screenshot and preserved the remarks.
In a later post, Payton Lucas - who until recently attended Winfield High School - apologized and laughed about what he previously posted about Ball's death.
"Ok god damn everyone lol sorry for speaking my mine now piss off," Payton Lucas wrote on Jan. 31.
That posting generated numerous comments, some threatening Payton Lucas because of what he had written.
Because of the threats, Winfield High School locked its doors around lunchtime on Feb. 1 and did not let students leave the building, according to a school employee who asked to remain anonymous. Last week, school officials said the school was not placed on lockdown status.
Putnam County Superintendent Chuck Hatfield said Payton Lucas is no longer attending Winfield High School, but has not been expelled.
After hearing about Harrison Lucas being fired, several Winfield residents had the same opinion - the chief was fired because of his son's comments.
"I don't think it's fair," said Michelle Pifer, 30, of Red House, who works at PJ's Tasty Pastries and Bistro in Winfield. "You can't control what your kid says.
"When I heard he was fired, the first thing I thought was it was over his son," she said. "[Harrison Lucas] was always so nice and polite."
Lita Livermon, 49, who has worked at the Little General in Winfield for almost nine years, said she wasn't surprised to hear Harrison Lucas had been fired.
"His son put him in that situation. If that boy had never put anything on Facebook this would have never happened," she said. "Now, he has cost him his career."
People in the community have been outraged over his son's comments, Livermon said, and wanted the mayor to do something about it.
"If you don't have control over your child, how can you control the community?" she asked.
Livermon said she has known Harrison Lucas several years, and "always respected him because he was a pastor and the police chief."
Lucas, who is also the preacher of Fresh Start Ministries in Winfield, would not comment on his termination or about his son's comments on Tuesday. Instead, he said, "I have really enjoyed working for the people of Winfield for the last 10 years."
Reach Kate White at [email protected]
or 304-348-1723.
Copyright 2012 Charleston Newspapers
