Arvin's city manager confirmed he decided not to renew the police chief's contract, a move that has sparked concern among some community members and city officials.
"All I can say is the chief's contract expired, and I decided not to renew it," City Manager Jeff Jones said.
The decision not to renew Former Police Chief Alex Ghazalpour's contract has drawn criticism from residents who gathered outside Arvin city hall on Monday to show their support for the ousted police chief.
"I'm a bit concerned about this decision. I've supported the police department for the past 19 years—almost 20 years—and we've never had a police chief like the one we have now, who's done so many positive things for our community," said Antonio Cervantes, an Arvin resident.
Vice Mayor Susana Reyes and Councilman Donny Horton have also expressed concern over Jones' decision, claiming they were not informed about it and had to find out through a resident.
Reyes told me she feels Jones' decision was abrupt. She claims Jones would always praise Ghazalpour for the great work he had been doing with the department.
Horton says Ghazalpour had been creating positive change in the department, which had been recognized in a recent Grand Jury report.
"This was the action of the city manager under the direction of the Mayor, which is highly inappropriate," Horton said.
However, Horton did not offer any evidence to back up his allegations.
Mayor Calderon declined to comment when contacted for an interview.
Jones refused to answer further questions about the city's plan moving forward, but said the city has yet to post an application for this role and will have more information in the coming weeks.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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