Trustees in a suburban Chicago village changed the locks on the police chief, saying he has no right to fill the position.

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Sauk Village Trustees Derrick Burgess and David Hanks had the locks changed on police headquarters while Chief Robert Fox was out to lunch Monday after he refused to vacate the position, the Chicago Sun-Times Media reported Tuesday.

"I took an oath to serve and protect and I plan to follow it to the end," Fox said.

The trustees said Mayor Lewis Towers appointed Fox without board approval in November and they passed a law limiting the mayor's appointment powers to two 30-day periods, which they said expired Saturday in Fox's case.

Towers has filed a lawsuit to have the law tossed.

Fox said he will not step down and he still planned to attend meetings at police headquarters Tuesday.