PORTSMOUTH, Va. - The Portsmouth City Attorney, Solomon Ashby, was fired during Tuesday's City Council meeting.
The firing came after a 4-3 vote and no explanation was given for his termination.
Ashby was fired on the same day that City Manager Dr. Lydia Pettis Patton submitted her resignation.
The city's website describes the office as, "The City Attorney's Office, also known as the City's Law Department, provides a wide range of legal services to City government. Various members of the office provide legal advice to City Council, the City Manager, and many other City officials."
There are 10 other members of the City Attorney's Office.
The firing comes during turmoil for the city. Last week Portsmouth Police Chief Angela Greene was placed on administrative leave.
The decision on Greene was made weeks after Greene announced that state Sen. Louise Lucas, NAACP members, school board members and public defenders had felony warrants issued in relation to their participation in a June 10 Confederate monument protest where a man was severely injured.
