City of Ashland to Hold Public Hearing on the Termination of Chief Gabe Edwards

On Tuesday, Nov. 21st, the Ashland Board of Aldermen said it will issue a notice for a public hearing on Thursday Dec. 7th at 1:00pm for the termination of Chief Gabe Edwards.

According to state law, a chief shall be subject to removal from office by the appointing authority or the governing body if a written notice is issued to the chief no fewer than 10 business days prior to the meeting at which his or her removal will be considered. A chief can be removed if the governing body, by two-thirds majority vote, finds just cause for removing the chief.

The public hearing notice comes after Callaway County Prosecutor Ben Miller declined to charge Chief Edwards, despite believing he could be charged with Misuse of Official Information pursuant to 576.050.2, RSMo., for recklessly obtaining information from the Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System (MULES). Miller said he declined to file charges because the Missouri State Highway Patrol did not submit a probable cause statement to his office for the purpose of filing charges.

In a press release dated Nov. 14, the City of Ashland apologized to residents for the unusual extensive length of time required to investigate the matter. The city says it is concerned about MSHP’s failure to produce a probable cause statement because Mr. Miller’s statement appears to indicate that the MSHP reached the conclusion that a crime has been committed, but has not submitted a probable cause statement as of Nov. 8th, 2023.