Bye Felicia: Police Force of small Missouri town resigns after first black mayor is elected...Citing 'safety concerns'

Tyrus Byrd, 40, was sworn into office in Parma last week, but her election victory was overshadowed by the departure of the majority of the police force, the city attorney, clerk and water treatment supervisor.

Residents of the small Missouri city say they have no idea why five of their six police officers and several other top officials resigned after their first black mayor was elected.

The officials all cited 'safety concerns' in their resignation letters, the outgoing mayor says.

There are 713 people living in the community and, according to the US Census Bureau, 57percent are white and 41percent are black.
Mrs Byrd, who was sworn in on Wednesday, said that she is still not sure why the city employees quit.
Her father, former city board member Simon Wofford, insists his daughter has a good relationship with the police department.

KFVS-TV broke the story last week. Citizens rallied to Mrs Bryd's side, saying that the town didn't even need as many officers as it had.

'I think it was pretty dirty the way they all quit without giving her a chance, but I don't think they hurt the town with quitting because who needs six police for 740 people?' resident Martha Miller told KFVS.

The run-down city, which is 175 miles south of St. Louis in southeastern Missouri, has suffered a spate of break-ins recently.
Despite the surge in crime and the comparatively large police force, residents told the TV station that they almost never saw cops patrolling the streets. 

Mrs Byrd said that the election of the first African American mayor should be celebrated instead of focusing on the departures of city employees.

Randall Ramsey, the outgoing mayor who has spent 36 years in the job, says he also has no idea why the group quit.