BONIFAY, Fla. (WMBB) — After firing the Police Chief earlier this week, the new Interim Mayor Larry Cook in Bonifay continued to flex his authority, throwing citizens out of the meeting.

But some residents wanted to question Cook about his firing Chief Jimmy Macon.

So Cook ordered Bonifay Police officers to remove more than half a dozen people. 

Bonifay residents tried to stand up against what they believed was wrong with their city, during Thursday night’s budget workshop.

“I’m here representing many citizens that are afraid to speak out in front of this county,” resident Richard Willsey said. 

Tuesday evening Mayor Emily McCann resigned, leaving Larry Cook as the new Interim Mayor.

His first order of business was to fire police chief Jimmy Macon for what he called “negligence and insubordination”.  

A termination letter said Macon left his gun and badge in the Golden Corral restaurant in Dothan, Alabama on August 15.  

But Macon told News 13 that he had not been issued either a badge or the gun at the time of the alleged incident. 

He said as soon as he realized he’d left his bag, containing his personal gun,  at the restaurant, he took the necessary steps. 

“I did call the Dothan Police to ask them to go by the Golden Corral and the manager or the waiters on me picked up a black bag, ” Macon said.

Macon said the bag was safely recovered.

“As for him being insubordinate, well, as you saw here tonight, with all the people being ejected for using their First Amendment right under the Constitution to express their discontent with this council making Mr. Macon chief because he is still my chief, he refused to eject citizens who were exercising their First Amendment right, and he was upholding the first thing in the law enforcement’s oath is uphold the Constitution of the United States,” Macon said.

The Interim Mayor Larry Cook, City Clerk Ricky Callahan, and Councilman Rick Crews all of whom declined to comment.