The full-time police department in Milner, Georgia, has resigned en masse after the town’s mayor admitted secretly placing a GPS tracker on the police chief’s truck.

The incident has gone viral online this week, though the resignations took effect in late October.

Mayor Craig Timmons confirmed in an interview with WSB-TV that he put the tracking device on the vehicle of Police Chief Lamar Bunn. He also admitted installing a surveillance camera on a car wash across from City Hall, where the chief’s office is located. Timmons said he acted because his signature goes on the chief’s timesheets and he had concerns about them.

He said he did not expect the department to resign. Bunn has denied any wrongdoing, saying he often works remotely and that his duties, including emails and monitoring the radio, do not end when he leaves the office. He has also said the tracking violated his Fourth Amendment rights, and that it was done with a device the mayor bought with his own money, without the knowledge of the city council or the city administrator.

The announcement came at a council meeting, where City Manager Tausha Grose said the entire police force had stepped down. That includes the chief, five full-time officers and most of the reserve officers, with the department’s last day set for 28 October. Grose also filed her own resignation, effective 30 October. A resignation letter obtained by WSB-TV cited concerns about the mayor’s judgment and decision-making, as well as that of some council members.

Timmons initially declined to comment on the tracker at the council meeting but later acknowledged it to the station.

The Lamar County Sheriff’s Office has been covering calls in the town of about 770 residents. Sheriff Brad White said deputies will keep responding as they always have, but that the city would have to contract with his office for police services if the gap becomes long-term.

Timmons has said he believes Milner can rebuild its department and that he has already received unsolicited applications for police and city manager posts. Some local officials have raised the question of what happens next, with one arguing the city’s charter requires it to maintain its own police force.