Canton mayor resigns; city officials claim Lewis County officials are engaged in ‘hostile takeover’

CANTON, Mo. – Jarrod Phillips resigned as the mayor of Canton on Friday in a two-sentence news release submitted to the town’s Board of Aldermen.

A copy of the letter was sent out at 6 p.m. Friday, saying the resignation is effective on August 8. An unsigned letter from city officials was also in the e-mail which heavily criticized the actions of Lewis County officials who have taken action regarding multiple issues involving the Canton Police Department.

In the unsigned letter, Canton city officials claim Lewis County Sheriff David Parrish is attempting a ‘hostile takeover’ of the Canton Police Department and are ‘attacking’ what’s left of the department and Canton city officials by ‘militarizing’ mistakes of former employees.

The letter acknowledges the “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” behavior of the former members of the police department, but claims Parrish and Lewis County Prosecutor Chelsea Fellinger have not worked in good faith with the city to attempt to rectify the issue.