Outside of the Town Hall in Milford, Massachusetts, neighbors were holding signs of support for the police chief.
"He's been awesome to this community and what they're doing is very unfair," said Maryann Nydam of Milford.
Last month, Milford's Board of Selectmen voted 2-1 to not renew the contract of Chief Tom O'Loughlin.
For 16 years he has been Milford's top cop and his time at the position is running out.
"I love this town and the people in the town," said O'Loughlin.
His deal will expire next summer.
"I really don't want to comment on actions of the board," said O'Loughlin. "My attorney's handling that."
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His lawyer, Ernie Horn, said the vote happened during the middle of contract negotiations and they're still not sure what the motivation was.
O'Loughlin is 2.5 years away from the minimum retirement age of 65.
An online petition to keep the chief has more than 2,100 signatures and it was presented to the board Monday night.
"I understand there is no legality to the petition, but it's just a statement and that's mainly what i'm going for," said Mike Johnson, who created the petition. "The town is saying we want the Chief to stay where he is until he retires."
Horn said he wants to get back to negotiating.
If that does not happen, he said they will turn to the courts.
