The public was invited to come to a meeting on Monday concerning the suspension of several officers from a central Kentucky police department.

The meeting was held at nine Monday morning at the Paris City Municipal Building on High Street.

Six Paris police officers were suspended without pay last week for various charges. Attorneys for the officers say the charges stem from allegations of hanging out too much in the dispatch center.

The public filed a petition last week, trying to get the venue for the hearing changed so that more people could attend. But officials say the venue could not be changed because they needed a room with video capabilities.

Because of the limited seating, places were set up in the hallway for those who wished to attend with screens visible and speakers in the hallway.

The hearing included hours of video evidence presented by Paris Police Chief Rob WIlliams as he explained why he suspended the six officers without pay.

One of those six officers has since resigned. The other five have agreed to have their charges tried together.

Williams said the behavior of the officers shown on video from inside the dispatch room violated department policies. He says the video shows officers spending hours hanging out at times with their feet up on desks, goofing around and doing unrelated homework.

A department wide memo was sent out on December 8th asking all officers to stop hanging out in the dispatch center. The accused officers all say they followed the instruction and they believe their records will show that.

Daniel Whitley Sr. the attorney for the accused officers says the case retaliation, "These officers elected not to switch from a ten hour shift to 12 hour since then these officers have been in the chiefs cross hares."

Each of the officers will have a change to testify and respond to the allegations during the hearing today.