SALMON, Idaho -- The Salmon Police Department is trying to stay afloat despite the uncertain future of Chief Jim Spain.

Chief Spain was fired recently by Mayor John Miller in an emergency meeting that was later deemed illegal by the city attorney.

While a heated city council meeting Wednesday night did not yield any decisions regarding the issue either, many are coming out of the woodwork, and have strong opinions for either side.

In one corner are Chief Spain’s supporters, who consider themselves the vocal majority.

“He’s a good man, and I believe the mayor is the one at fault here,” said Susan Schaffner a former city council member who is one of Chief Spain’s biggest supporters.

Schaffner is trying to turn the tables on Mayor Miller, who she has butted heads with in the past.

She is sending around a petition being signed by many around town asking for the Mayor Miller’s resignation.

“I left the city council because I could not work with him, and I told him when he ran that I did not think he was the man for the job,” said Schaffner.

Meanwhile, on the other side is Mayor Miller who says his relationship with Chief Spain has deteriorated beyond repair, and accuses the department of having a “Rambo-like” attitude toward their enforcement of the law.

His supporters include Jim and Eliza Jernigan of Salmon.

On April 21, 2010 the Jernigans say two Salmon Police Officers came onto their property and “harassed” Eliza, who says she was talking on the phone.

“I wasn’t doing anything wrong, I hadn’t committed any crime, and the police say they are supposed to serve and protect, well that’s not what they did in this case,” said Eliza Jernigan.

Jernigan says the Police accused her of making threatening and harassing phone calls to her son’s ex-wife, with whom they were involved in a custody hearing.

“We just called to ask a question, and within minutes, the police were at my door pumping their guns and threatening me,” said Jernigan.

Jim Jernigan was out of town at the time.

“I was on the phone with my wife because I work far away from home, and am gone a lot, but now we just don’t feel safe because of what happened,” said Jim Jernigan.

Lemhi County Sheriff Sam Slavin says an independent investigator was brought in from Blackfoot to look into the incident.

His report indicates no wrongdoing on the part of the police department.

Eliza Jernigan refutes the report’s findings.

“This investigator came in and claimed not to know the officers involved, or Chief Spain, and then kept referring to him as ‘Jimmy’,” said Jernigan, “not sure how you can call someone ‘Jimmy’ and not claim to know them personally.”

The accusations don’t stop with the Jernigan’s.

Rick Ackerley and Cynthia Welch live together as husband and wife, and say they had a run-in with Chief Spain himself a few years ago as police made a probation visit to their son.

“Chief Spain came into my home when I told him not to, he pushed my door open, and when I told him I would call his boss, he slapped the phone out of my hand three times,” said Welch, “and he went over the line when he pulled a gun on my husband.”

As a result of these incidents, both families are now in support of Mayor Miller.

“If he’s doing something to crack down on this and protect the people, then I’m all for it,” said Eliza Jernigan.

Nevertheless, at the meeting Wednesday night, the support for Spain was prevalent.

Before the meeting, picketers were seen outside City Hall.

The support poured inside where approximately 20 people testified, the majority on Chief Spain’s behalf.

“If the council has half the integrity of Chief Spain, you’ll reinstate him, and you (Mayor Miller) will step down,” said one passionate resident, followed by raucous applause.

Mayor Miller made various efforts to keep the meeting under control, getting involved in a heated exchange with fellow city council member, Jim Baker at the beginning.

Baker was trying to move the public comment section of the meeting to the top of the agenda, and faced immediate disagreement from Mayor Miller.

“I have the floor! I have the floor!” exclaimed Baker.

“I run this meeting!” refuted Miller.

This exchange brought immediate reaction from the standing-room-only crowd in attendance.

The meeting room was full nearly half an hour before start time. Some locals say it’s the largest crowd they’ve ever seen at a city council meeting.

Through all of this, the Salmon Police Department is trying to keep a positive and neutral attitude.

In a written statement to Local News 8, Interim Chief K.V. Felker says the following:

“It’s a difficult situation for us right now. We are trying to take an objective approach and keep serving the community to the best of our ability. The last year has been frustrating, and we’re not going to please everybody. But, Chief Spain did a lot for the department. There are some specific issues that need to be worked out, but overall it’s unfortunate it’s come to what it has.”

No decisions have been made yet regarding Chief Spain’s future with the Salmon Police Department.

One of the council members was not in attendance, so the council could not go into Executive Session.

A meeting was scheduled for Wednesday June 9 at 6:00 p.m. at the Salmon City Council Chambers.