At the Oxford Town Commissioner's meeting on November 24, 2025, the Commissioners made these statements on the dismissal of Police Chief Chris Phillips.
Please Follow us on Gab, Minds, Telegram, Rumble, Gettr, Truth Social, Twitter
Commissioner Greer:
As many of you know, we decided unanimously to terminate Chief Phillips for cause.
The Police Department has many state and legal mandates. The Chief as head of the department is accountable for these public duties. However, ultimately, the Town of Oxford Commissioners are responsible for these mandates and duties.
Understanding this grave responsibility, we made a decision that was necessary and in the best interests of the Town. This decision was not made lightly and was informed by process and outside consultations.
Commissioner Bell:
These types of decisions are difficult. They are not made lightly but are made after careful consideration of the situation in hand. We considered all the facts. It was a multi-step process. In addition to the discussions and questioning amongst ourselves, we consulted with our insurance carrier and their Human Resource experts. To review both the facts, and our ultimate decision based on those facts
There was concurrence with our position, and we took the necessary action. This decision was not made lightly but was a necessary one.
Commissioner Donovan
The events that led to our decision to terminate Chief Phillips’ employment are
not generally known to the public.
We have said as little as possible publicly about the basis for our decision to
avoid unnecessary public embarrassment to Chief Phillips, and to avoid
disclosing information that may be deemed confidential personnel information.
We are not under any contractual obligation to Chief Phillips that would bar us
from discussing any of these facts further, and neither is he.
But as Commissioners, we have a fiduciary obligation to protect the Town and
the taxpayers from unnecessary litigation, and any further disclosure by us of the
underlying facts could lead to that.
Although we have no doubt that we made the correct decision based on the
facts, getting involved in such litigation, no matter the outcome, would be
expensive and time-consuming for the Town.
For those reasons, we made the judgment that further disclosures would not be
in the Town’s best interest.
We answer to you, but that is the judgment that the three of us reached
collectively and unanimously and we are seeking your trust in that decision.
Chief Phillips, of course, is free to make his own decision about what is in his
best interest and disclose or not based on facts as he sees fit.
The following statement to the Commissioners and letter to Talbot County Sheriff Joe Gamble was attached to the meeting's agenda:
