Woman suing East Point claiming she was fired after judge received $40,000 incentive

EAST POINT, Ga. — Civil rights attorney Arnold Lizana says it’s a $40,000 incentive a City of East Point municipal judge is accused of receiving in exchange for firing a court administrator.

“This is a retaliatory harassment case,” Lizana said.

Lizana sat down with an exclusive interview with Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln.

He said this is just one of several allegations listed in a recently filed federal lawsuit against the City of East Point.

“The function of the courts should not be influenced by politics,” Lizana told Lincoln.

Lizana said his client Kimerly Propst, a former court administrator, claims she was unjustly fired.

“After she took a stand against this unreasonable request from Councilwoman Sharon Shropshire, everything changed,” Lizana said.

Lincoln spoke with Propst days after she was fired earlier this year.

She said the councilwoman asked her to reverse a traffic ticket for Shropshire’s relative.

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Lizana said that request is unlawful and after Propst reported the request to human resources she was terminated.

The lawsuit alleges the city went to extreme lengths to terminate Propst.

Claiming at the direction of Shropshire she influenced municipal court Judge Rashida Oliver to take direct supervision over Propst.

“And the day after they changed it, Judge Rashida Oliver fired Ms. Propst,” Lizana said.

According to the lawsuit, multiple East Point employees have given statements that Oliver was pressured into firing Propst.

“There are a number of eyewitnesses who saw what occurred, many who have already given strong statements, so we know what happened,” Lizana said.

The suit alleges Oliver received a $40,000 pay raise after Propst firing. And Propst position was quickly filled by an associate of Oliver.

Channel 2 Action News has sent multiple emails to Shropshire, but she hasn’t responded.

The City of East Point sent a statement, saying:

“Although there have been no findings by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the City, it is the City’s understanding that Ms. Propst has filed a lawsuit. Therefore, the City declines to comment on active litigation.”

“That shows you the level of animosity when folks are willing to do the wrong thing to get back at you,” Lizana said.

The lawsuit is seeing damages worth $7 million.

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