FOREST PARK, Ga. — A police chief was fired after city officials accused him of stealing paid time off, even though he’s a department head.
Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes was live in Forest Park for Channel 2 Action News at 6:00.
The former chief says it was politically motivated. He believes it all started when he tried to rehire an officer.
The officer told Fernandes, once he lost the race to be a council member he came back here to get his job back at the Forest Park Police Department.
The former chief was just about to hire him back, and that’s when the investigation into the chief started.
“This hearing impacts my career,” said former Forest Park Police Chief Brandon Criss when he stood before city council Monday for an appeal hearing after the city manager fired Criss about 10 days before.
“It’s just a little heartbreaking that I have not been given a fair opportunity,” Criss said
Channel 2 Action News exclusively reported that Criss was placed on leave back in February when the city manager accused him of stealing paid time off.
The former chief says he’s a department head, an exempt employee - who doesn’t have to log his time off.
His attorney Nathan Wade said this appeal hearing is the first time the former chief could plead his case
“Not one time was any evidence requested. Nothing. I don’t find that to be orderly investigation,” Wade said.
City officials say Criss took off these 23 days without properly documenting it.
Some of the days are holidays.
“I’m not a 40-hour employee. I work until the job done, and is it really ever done as a police chief,” Criss said.
He showed text messages and other evidence that showed he was showing up to crime scenes, city events and jumping on conference calls when he was supposed to be off.
“As a department head, you don’t work the same time as a non-exempt employee,” Criss said.
Duane Thomas is a former officer who resigned to run for a city council seat back in November.
He tried to get his job back after he lost the election. And Thomas says the councilmember who won didn’t want Criss to rehire him
“He said, ‘Why would I not hire officer Thomas back? It’s a good officer.’ I had a good record. I had no bad marks on my record, no writeups or anything. ‘So why would I not hire this officer back?’ Then after that, there’s an investigation into Chief Criss,” Thomas said.
City officials are not accusing Criss of stealing any money. He never got paid anything extra for the time off.
Mayor Gwen Ellison wants the chief back and is now trying to veto the decision to fire him.
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