After only four months on the job, Carlus Page has been removed as chief of the Lumberton Police Department.
City Clerk Merlene Wall said Page was re-classified as a police officer Monday night during a special-called meeting of the Lumberton Board of Aldermen. Board members then voted to name police officer Larry Allen as interim chief of police.
Calls to Page and Mayor Quincy Rogers have not been returned.
Page was sworn in during an April special-called meeting, after former chief Shane Flynt resigned when a video surfaced of Flynt reportedly smoking marijuana.
After being named chief, Page said his top goals were to establish a police substation, instill pride for the town in its residents, start a crime suppression unit and serve more warrants on offenders. In his first month as chief, two arrests were made that brought attention to the Lumberton police force: a man accused of transporting 4-5 pounds of marijuana in a former Newton County Sheriff’s Department vehicle, and another case which involved a local newborn who tested positive for methamphetamine.
“I think we are right on track and we’re going to have a great department with a lot of great potential,” Page said in an earlier story. “We are still just starting to get the right pieces in the right places.”
