A memo has emerged that shows growing internal strife between two of Clayton County’s top government officials.
Clayton Police Chief Greg Porter is accusing Commission Chairman Jeff Turner of bypassing him and giving orders directly to police department employees as well as making "questionable requests" involving police department resources, according to a memo obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In the four page, Nov.17 memo, Porter said Turner ordered him to purchase a fully-loaded Tahoe and security equipment for his personal security detail at a time when the police department budget was tight. Porter also alleged Turner has threatened his job on numerous times and told him the police department “belongs to me.”
“Over the past 22 months, I have perceived Chairman Turner’s actions as very unprofessional and disrespectful. Chairman Turner has constantly ordered me to use departmental resources in a less than efficient or resourceful manner,” Porter wrote. The memo is addressed to the Board of Commissioners and Chief Operating Officer Alex Cohilas.
Turner, who was Clayton’s first black police chief before being removed in 2009, said the memo is an indication that Porter “doesn’t want to be managed. He has difficulty with my management style. That’s not illegal. That’s my purview as chairman.”
“I have no idea what prompted his memo,” Turner told the AJC. “I really don’t understand from where he’s coming. I’m the chairman and I treat him with the same respect as I do any other department head. If anyone is cognizant of micromanaging the police department, it’s me. When I was police chief, I did not want to be micromanaged.”
Read more - as well as the memo - later today and in Friday’s AJC.
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