After being in executive session for nearly 2-1/2 hours, the Pima Town Council went back into its open meeting and eventually ended Pima officer Keith Whitmire's employment Tuesday.

The council voted 4-1 for termination. Pima Mayor Russell Woods cast the lone dissenting vote.

Whitmire had been on paid administrative leave for about three months prior to the decision. During his leave, Whitmire was investigated by the Department of Public Safety for three separate allegations of misconduct with 10 different violations, according to Pima Police Chief Dianne Cauthen. She said the allegations stemmed from nonfeasance and malfeasance of duty, including not documenting the chain of custody while collecting blood evidence and not turning in orders of protection reports in a timely manner. "Some of these things led to some of our citizens feeling that they were wronged," Cauthen said.

Some of the other violations listed in the DPS report include insubordination, lying to supervisors and lying to administrative interviewers, according to Cauthen.

"There's some serious charges in there," she said.

The Courier has not reviewed the DPS report because it is yet to become public record. After Cauthen files her final disposition addendum to the report with the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, the report will become public record and the Courier will request a copy.

Cauthen said she substantiated the DPS investigation's findings and recommended termination based on those findings. She said the letter recommending termination she gave the council will also be given to AZPOST. It is entirely up to AZPOST to decide whether to suspend or terminate Whitmire's officer certification. The certification is necessary to be eligible for most law enforcement positions.

The council decided to remove Whitmire because he had not met the Police Department's standards while on his probationary period. Whitmire was on a new-hire yearlong probationary period because he had previously left his position for another job and then was rehired. The probation period was set to end in January 2010. Whitmire had served on the Pima Police Department for about 13 years, including time as the department's chief of police.

Councilor Sherri Rozzell said she felt the council would be undermining Cauthen's authority as Pima's Police chief if they did not terminate Whitmire, especially because he was still on his probation period. Vice Mayor George Lemen agreed with Rozzell and made a motion to terminate him for "not living up to the probation."

Mayor Woods said he voted against termination because he believes Whitmire has been a good officer for the town during his 13-year tenure and that everybody makes mistakes.

Whitmire told the Courier the allegations against him are unfounded and the council used the probation clause as an excuse to terminate him. He said he couldn't disprove all of the allegations because most of them had to do with County Dispatch records that he has no control over.

"I more or less think it was nothing but a witch hunt. . ." Whitmire said. "The town of Pima (has) some issues, some serious issues. And eventually, it will come back to bite them in the butt."

Pima recently hired a new officer, Jon Hurston, but that was to replace former officer Daniel Rios, who resigned June 22 after committing an off-duty outburst in Clifton. Hurston is a native of Safford who spent three years with the Surprise Police Department.

Cauthen said her department has three full-time officers and two reserve officers. She told the Courier that Pima will be advertising for a fourth full-time officer in the near future.