CITY OF SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — A new Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint, filed four days ago, accuses the City of South Fulton Police department of continuing the alleged cycle of retaliation and discrimination for speaking up.
The findings in this report align with the accusations officers made in the lawsuits against the police department
Friday, city leaders avoided answering questions about the former chief’s retirement settlement that allowed him to walk away without facing accountability.
“We are acknowledging our mistakes and we’re moving forward,” Mayor Carmalitha Gumbs said.
“Are you saying that was a mistake to let him go the way you did?” Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes asked.
“No, I’m not saying that at all,” Gumbs said.
During Friday’s news conference, the City of South Fulton mayor and other city leaders could not legally say anything about the $200,000 retirement settlement for former police chief Keith Meadows.
That’s because their agreement with Meadows says, “The city can only say the city has accepted the police chief’s retirement and thanks him for his service. The city shall not provide other comment with regard to the police chief’s separation.”
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
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- South Fulton police chief on leave offered retirement package
- Former S. Fulton officer claims she was fired after reporting sexual harassment
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But since the city said Friday’s news conference was about transparency, Fernandes kept pressing for answers.
The report says there are issues with the department’s operations from Internal Affairs to discipline and promotions.
It gives specific examples of how Internal Affairs “lacks independence, it applies rules inconsistently, and Chief Meadows was the only person to decide punishment for officers, who launched complaints with Internal Affairs.”
The report says Meadows would suspend or terminate officers based on favoritism or rank, rather than what Internal Affairs recommended.
The report also says there were inconsistencies with promotions Meadows made.
“This is a new day. We’re setting a new tone. We are being very transparent. Chief served us well. He served us for seven years in this city,” Gumbs said.
“This doesn’t say he served you well,” Fernandes said.
City leaders promised to figure out how to implement all the recommendations in this review and said they made themselves available Friday to prove they’re turning a page in this city.
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