CENTRAL - Central Police Chief Roger Corcoran speaking on the internal affairs investigation within the department on Wednesday, just a day after the Central City Council denied the chief's request to terminate Assistant Chief Cliff Ivey.

Corcoran telling WBRZ on the phone the internal affairs investigation report "speaks for itself."

On Tuesday night, the city council was in executive session for several hours, before unanimously deciding to keep Ivey. During the public hearing portion of the meeting, one person spoke, former Central Police Department employee Deborah Dougherty. She resigned from the department in 2023. She said Corcoran wanted to fire Ivey for sharing information about an internal affairs investigation with someone outside of the police department.

"Corcoran believing Ivey told me info about an IA investigation, which he never did," she told council members during the meeting.

Dougherty said a video circulated on social media in April, showing a person in a red wig, which Dougherty believes to be an impersonation of her. She said Chief Corcoran approaches the person in the wig and pushes them. Dougherty said she believes this video is what started an internal affairs investigation.

"The video showed him coming in there very aggressively, slamming her hand in the drawer, there's no doubt in my mind, he really thought that was me, and he was going to hurt me," Dougherty said to WBRZ.

Corcoran told WBRZ that the video was part of a Halloween prank and said "[Dougherty] offered to supply the wig." He added that her name was not mentioned in the video.

As for the internal investigation, Corcoran said it comes after a complaint from Dougherty regarding the prank video. He also said he recommended Ivey's termination due to his disobeying orders and violating office policy.

In a statement to WBRZ, Corcoran wrote:

"All I will say at this time is, the Internal Affairs file contains all the reasons for my recommendation of termination of the Assistant Chief, and a lot of what is being said is inaccurate. It is my job to recommend discipline to the Council, but it's their decision whether or not to hold officers accountable for their actions."

Dougherty said she learned of the internal investigation at a city council meeting about a month ago. She also said Baker's Assistant Chief Chris Becnel, an internal affairs investigator, reached out to her. He told her Central PD had asked him to handle their investigation.

"Somebody came by and said, 'Hey we all got a letter, an email from the chief... we're under an internal affairs investigation and if Becnel contacts us, we're to cooperate and answer any questions,'" Dougherty said. "[Becnel] introduced himself and said what he was doing, that he had been asked by the chief out here to do this. He said, 'I understand there's a video that has been released on Facebook that has you upset.'"

WBRZ also reached out to Central Mayor Wade Evans who issued the following statement:

"After careful deliberation, the council has decided not to accept the police chief’s recommendation to terminate Assistant Chief Ivey. This decision reflects the council’s commitment to due process, transparency, and a fair review of all relevant information. While we recognize the seriousness of the concerns raised, we believe the current outcome upholds the standards of accountability and leadership expected by our community. The council remains dedicated to maintaining public trust and integrity within our Police Department leadership."

WBRZ also reached out to Ivey for comment.