In fact, Malcolm Cottrell hadn’t written any at all in more than a year, since legislation barred him from writing enforceable speeding tickets as an uncertified police officer, he said.

Mayor William Kincaid of Gauley Bridge, who fired the police chief a few weeks after taking office, says Cottrell was fired for not attending the state police academy and becoming certified.

Police in the town have been known in recent years to write more speeding tickets than anywhere else in West Virginia.

Cottrell said writing enough speeding tickets was a constant issue he heard from City Council while serving as police chief for about three years.

He said he will be filing a lawsuit over his firing.

“Your job as a police officer is to serve and protect, not write a bunch of tickets,” he said…