Ousted police chief wins support from incoming Aquia District Supervisor

A newly elected Stafford County supervisor has stated her support for the reinstatement of former Aquia Harbour Police Chief Nathan Thompson.

Monica Gary, who will represent the Aquia District on January 1, announced her position on Thompson’s dismissal from his post this past November.

“Nate was recently removed from his position by the HOA without cause, and I have strong reason to believe his removal was politically motivated. Not only was his removal inappropriate, but Nate is a man of solid character whom we ought to admire and go to bat for (as many of his beloved neighbors have done),” said Gary in her post.

Gary followed her statement with a call for a special meeting with the Aquia Harbour Homeowners Association to reinstate Thompson to his post.

Thompson served as chief of police since 2007 for the Aquia Harbour neighborhood, a 2,200-home gated community in North Stafford located off of U.S. Route 1.

The HOA Board of Directors fired Thompson, citing a “misuse of authority,” but the board offered no details to their rationale. The move left residents confused and caused them to speculate on his dismissal.

“We can’t disclose any details because it’s a personnel and confidential matter,” Jack Cavalier, president of the Aquia Harbour Property Owners Association, stated in an interview with the Free-Lance Star. “Social media has been jumping now, and everybody’s jumped to conclusions without knowing any of the facts.”

Caviler represented the Aquia District on the Stafford County Board of Supervisors until December 2019.

The decision to fire the police chief has been met with rallies and petition signings using the #reinstatenate on Facebook. Residents are calling for the reinstatement of Thompson as police chief and the recall of Cavalier and other members of the HOA board. Residents are also calling to hold a vote of no confidence for interim General Manager Ken Laenger, who officially terminated Thompson.

In the meantime, Aquia Harbour has placed police Lt. Jim McCarty as interim police chief. Recognized by the General Assembly, the neighborhood’s police department is one of a handful of its kind in the state that has full policing authority and trains its officers at a regional law enforcement academy.

This past November, Gary won the Aquia Supervisor’s seat in the general election. She ran as an Independent and defeated former county supervisor Paul Milde. Milde. She’ll replace Cindy Lamb, who lost to Milde during a June 2021 Republican Primary Election.