LAHARPE LaHarpe City Council members unanimously voted to fire Police Chief Ashley Wright Thursday, two days following her arrest for interfering with law enforcement.
Council members said nothing publicly they discussed the matter in executive session for 30 minutes prior to their vote although Wright addressed a small audience that had gathered in City Hall to watch the proceedings.
Her arrest stemmed from her refusal to allow deputies to enter their home in the old LaHarpe Methodist Episcopal Church in order to arrest her husband on a warrant issued out of Haskell County, Texas.
David Wright fled from the house before deputies entered the residence. He was found hiding in a metal shed near LaHarpe City Park a short time later.
Hes accused of refusing to return his badge following his firing as Rule, Texas, police chief in October 2015. Allen County Sheriff Bryan Murphy said he is requesting David be charged locally with impersonating a police officer, after David Wright had been reported patrolling LaHarpes city streets on his wifes behalf, as well as with interfering with law enforcement and trespassing.
Ashley Wright presented the crowd with a photocopy of a receipt she said indicated the badge had been returned. She also said her husband also had returned a second, broken badge he was accused of stealing.
Im defending my husbands name, she said.
If hes innocent why did he run? an audience member asked.
Because, with the system, the way the jail works, once you process yourself, youre labeled a criminal forever, she responded. I feel that way, like (with what) I went through, now Im a criminal.
She denied accusations her husband was impersonating an officer, saying David only rode along as a passenger for her protection.
Yes, he did, another audience member objected. I saw him with my own eyes.
While continuing to deny the accusations her husband had driven the car, Ashley Wright said she had previously appointed her husband as a reserve officer, allowing him to accompany his wife on patrol.
That assertion, however, came after Council members tabled her request earlier this month to appoint reserve officers until after they had fully considered the matter.
Thats something Ill get in trouble for, she said.
THE WRIGHTS
