KILLIAN – You could say Killian Mayor Craig McGehee went out in a blaze of glory – resigning from his position as mayor after abruptly firing the police chief in a controversial move that got the entire town talking last week.

McGehee resigned his position as mayor in a letter the Secretary of State certified Monday. McGehee said he was taking a job at an oil company in Texas, leaving Louisiana because of a lack of drilling activity in the Gulf of Mexico. McGehee wrote his new job is in Midland, Texas, too far for him to commute or try to manage town business while being away at work.

McGehee will leave his position in Killian government June 30.

McGehee's resignation comes after he fired the police chief, Dennis Hill, abruptly last week. McGehee accused Hill of hiding traffic tickets and fraud. McGehee was the tie-breaking vote needed to fire Hill at a recent board of aldermen meeting. McGehee wrote his resignation letter around the time the chief was fired.

The firing created a social media fire storm lead by Hill's family who maintained his innocence and likened the firing to small town politics. Hill never returned requests for comment related to his firing. McGehee was in Texas last week when news of the firing broke.

Though, McGehee said state auditors were looking into the claims made against Hill.

McGehee said he recommends Paul Canik to serve as interim mayor and, in a bizarre message in the letter's closing, wrote “… I need to give special thanks to Julie Monteleone and Brian Abels for their support over the past few difficult months.”

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