(ANDERSON) – Mayor Thomas Broderick Jr. of Anderson has removed Tony Watters from his position of chief of police.
The mayor notified Watters that he will be relieved as chief effective Sunday, Oct. 13.
Mayor Broderick, removed Tony Watters after Watters got into a dispute with Indiana State troopers when they arrested his son.
Madison County prosecutor Rodney Cummings called for the demotion of Watters after he learned Watters came physically close and put a finger in the faces of troopers who were arresting the chief’s son for domestic battery in early June.
Watters says he fully cooperated with the state police investigation.
Mayor Broderick learned of the encounter in mid-July. He met with ISP troopers and Prosecutor Cummings about the matter. He requested the police report detailing the allegations, but the report was not released.
An Anderson city council representative was given access to the report last week. Monday morning, the report was provided to the local newspaper. Mayor Broderick said he received the report Monday after making an additional request.
In the release, Mayor Broderick states that he would have resolved this “matter” if Prosecutor Rodney Cummings would have released the report properly.
“This matter would have been resolved long ago if only the prosecutor would have released the report to me in a timely fashion. I do not understand the playing of politics in such an important matter. I wanted to make a timely decision, but it needed to be based on facts, not hearsay. I wanted the full story to be able to act in a fair and deliberate manner. Now that I have received the report, I am able to attend to the concerns raised, as well as the distractions surrounding the entire incident.”
Watters has been the chief of police in Anderson since 2016.
Details into the dispute between ISP and Watters were not available.
