Everyone in Chattahoochee Hills has police chief Matthew Rook's cell phone number.
“Instead of calling 911, you call him,” said Amber Rampley. “He’s the best police officer I’ve ever known, and my father was a cop.”
Rook has endeared himself to the community in incident after incident. He called one father to make sure the family was OK after his daughter was taken to the hospital with a seizure.
He drove a woman to the hospital behind the ambulance when her husband was in an accident.
And when a mother wrote on Facebook about having locked her children in the car after she had called 911, he commented on the post to say that someone was on the way.
“He’s the heart of or city,” said one resident, Blake Walker.
This week, Rook and the city appear to have parted ways. What happened is unclear, and residents have started an online petition to get Rook's job back.
When asked to discuss the apparent dismissal, city manager Jay DiPasquale said, “No, but thank you for your inquiry.” The mayor, Tom Reed, did not return a phone call or an email seeking comment. Rook did not respond to messages on his office or cell phones, or those sent through various social media sites.
But residents are eager to talk about Rook, and each one seems to have a story about his kindness or generosity. Barry Anbinder, who has lived in the city for two years, said he has never heard a negative word about Rook.
“It just seems like something weird is going on,” he said. “There’s a feeling something’s rotten in the state of Denmark.”
Robin Cailloux, who started the online petition that has garnered nearly 200 signatures, said she had talked to Rook, who had been advised not to say anything. Cailloux, who had locked her children in the car, said the city has made no communication about the decision. She learned about the dismissal on Facebook, she said.
“Everything is rumors,” Cailloux said. “I expect some kind of communication, but there’s nothing going on.”
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