Dozens of citizens angry over the firing of the Mapleton Police Chief and the hiring of his replacement voiced their opinions on the matter during a meeting of the city council, Wednesday night. Sioux City television station KTIV reports the controversy about the firing of former chief John Holton in June has continued to upset the community. The citizens say it was unfair to remove him from the position he’s held since 1996. Mayor Krohn said he wished he could comment on the issue, but can’t, because he and the council have a legal obligation to not discuss the police staffing matter outside of meetings.

Conversations during the meeting sometimes escalated to screams as community members claimed there wasn’t enough coverage of the school zone on Highway 141. Citizens also said interim police chief Kirk Kinnaman and part time officer Jared Clausen were driving too quickly, andChief Kinnaman isn’t involved enough because he lives out of town.

The council voted to put an advertisement out for the police chief position, but some folks say they’re prepared to take action, should Holton not be reinstated. The council will start to accept applications for the new police chief position immediately, and hope to have a decision made by their October meeting.