GAULEY BRIDGE POLICE CHIEF-OFFICERS RESIGN - Alleged Speed Trap Investigation

(03/07/2012)
The Gauley Bridge police chief and two officers have resigned amid an investigation by the West Virginia State Police.

Gauley Bridge has been targeted as a West Virginia speed trap, with the tiny town writing thousands of tickets. The money generated is 50% of the town's budget.

The mayor says it is all about public safety, and the town is virtually crime free.

The Charleston Gazette reported that Mayor Byron Winebrenner told city council members on Tuesday that Police Chief Leonard Sean Whipkey is leaving after nine years and officers J. Kinser and Patrick Baisi had submitted letters of resignation.

The officers said their resignations were not linked to the investigation.

The resignations happened the same week Fayette County Prosecuting Attorney Carl Harris confirmed an investigation into the department's records by the state police.

Harris told the Gazette that State Police seized boxes of records and computers from the department one year ago.

See related story GAULEY BRIDGE SPEED TRAP BEING INVESTIGATED?