WILLIAMSON, WV (WOWK) – In the city of Williamson, the mayor is now also the chief of police. Mayor Charles Hatfield says the city council asked him to step into the role after Chief J.C. Dotson resigned a couple of weeks ago.

Mayor Hatfield says he was reluctant to take the position saying “I don’t really want to do this but I said I’d do it for a couple weeks but let’s hurry up and get the word out there that we’re looking for a police chief.”

Inexperience and availability are some of the reasons why city council members and the mayor didn’t feel there was a candidate already on the force to take the leadership role.

“They were either unable to serve because they were off due to injury or newly certified police officers and in fact, one is an uncertified officer waiting to go to the academy,” Hatfield says Thursday evening.

The appointment comes after the same council members voted back in the Spring to take away Mayor Hatfield’s responsibility of signing checks for the city. He told us at the time that the decision stemmed from his involvement in a lawsuit while he was CEO of Williamson Hospital.

Hatfield says his new temporary role as chief is strictly administrative. He will not be enforcing the law in any capacity, and will only be handling schedules for the police department.

Williamson City Council will have a special meeting next Thursday to discuss who the next chief will be. It’s still unclear why Chief Dotson resigned.