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FOP President Backs Off Police Boycott

Former Mayor Godbold 'Shocked' By Developments

POSTED: Wednesday, July 8, 2009
UPDATED: 9:37 pm EDT July 8, 2009

The head of the police union is backing off his call for a boycott Gate Petroleum, the business owned by Mayor John Peyton's father.

Fraternal Order of Police president Nelson Cuba's plan to boycott the gas stations in order to get back at the mayor for possible pension cuts is drawing a lot of attention.

Former Mayor Jake Godbold told Channel 4 he's never seen anything like this.

"It was just absolutely shocked, disappointed, way off base," Godbold said.

Godbold said he's shocked because of the way Cuba is going about this.

Here's what Cuba told Channel 4 on the phone Tuesday night about the Gate boycott:

"If you're going to take away from our family, you're going to hit our pocketbooks, what we worked so hard for, then you need to feel some of the pain were going to feel."

"I've never seen this kind of reaction in all my years and experience of mayor and on the council," Godbold said. "I've never seen anyone threaten the mayor by going out to his father's business and picketing. That is way off base."

But now Channel 4 is hearing something different from Cuba.

Channel 4's Jim Piggott talked to Cuba and Cuba said that this was a personal decision. He said this is nothing that is going to be endorsed by the union. He said it is up to each individual officer to make that decision, and he said he is done talking about this now.

Tuesday, Sheriff John Rutherford said does not believe this boycott decision represents the rank and file of police officers.

"This boycott thing is wrong," Rutherford said.

Godbold said he met with fire union leaders Wednesday and believes the fire union will not join in on the boycott.

"The mayor is having to make some very tough decisions, but if Nelson disagrees with him, it should be in the bargaining table," Godbold said.

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