The city of Roswell's police department has come under fire following a number of lawsuits that take aim at its leadership under former police chief Edwin Williams.
Critics of the departed chief say three pending lawsuits point to outdated policies and a dictatorial culture he cultivated.
"The number of lawsuits in such a short period of time should signal to any of the leaders in Roswell there are some potential issues that should be examined within the police department," said Cory Yager, a defense attorney and former Roswell Police officer who is not involved in the lawsuits. "It should raise a question in their minds whether there were issues with the leadership."
Roswell City Attorney David Davidson would not comment on the specifics of the lawsuits, but said the city didn’t see anything unusual about the number.
“It’s not unusual to have three or four lawsuits going at one time,” Davidson said. “And my comment is that people sue over some crazy stuff, in general.”
Williams, whose defense will be handled by the city, did not respond to several phone messages left at his home.
The most recent lawsuit alleges that former Roswell officer Maurice Bradford was fired Sept. 30 in retaliation for leaking damaging information about officer misconduct to the media. The case was filed in federal district court in Atlanta on March 14, a month after Williams retired from a 16-year career with the department.
Clifford Hardwick, Bradford's attorney, said his client was not the source of information, but he overheard several superior officers saying that Chief Williams believed he was the leak.
When Bradford's patrol car had a three-tire blowout, Williams directed subordinates to fabricate a reason to fire him, according to the lawsuit. The initial incident report stated Bradford was cooperative but could not determine the exact cause or location of the blowouts.
However, a substitute report filed four days later said that Bradford was uncooperative with the investigation, according to the lawsuit.
Human Resources director Kay Love rejected Bradford's appeal. She also denied a request to have the matter heard by the full review board. When denied unemployment benefits, Bradford appealed to the Georgia Department of Labor, which ruled in his favor.
A second lawsuit, filed in February in the same federal court, accused Williams and other department officials of age discrimination and creating a hostile work environment for longtime officer Neal Cobb.
Cobb was demoted after turning 55 in the summer of 2009. When he filed grievances with the city and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the lawsuit says department officials retaliated. Cobb, a 32-year veteran of the agency, was stripped of plain clothes privileges and his unmarked vehicle. He also discovered that a framed picture in his office was covered with a picture of a Chihuahua.
In the third lawsuit scheduled to be heard April 18 in federal district court in Atlanta, Roswell resident Marte Berkowitz sued Officer Jennifer Bennett, alleging the officer entered her home without a warrant Aug. 31, 2008. Bennett had been called there over a dispute between neighbors.
Berkowitz admitted she was photographing her neighbors in their yard for evidence in a lawsuit. Bennett arrested Berkowitz on a stalking charge. Two months later, a judge dismissed the case and found no probable cause for the arrest.
Hardwick said the department needs to be reorganized from top to bottom to address serious morale issues.
"If the officers are not given proper guidance as to what their role is, it's all too easy for abuses to happen," Hardwick said. "That's why you have the suits against the individual officers where they have abused their authority."
As liaison to the police and fire departments, City Council member Nancy Diamond has been privy to all of the lawsuits. She said she feels comfortable with Williams’ handling of the employees.
But Diamond said the transition to new Police Chief William Dwayne Orrick, who took the helm in February, has been a bit of a relief, both for Williams and the department.
“I think everyone was ready” for a change, Diamond said. “I can’t tell you why Ed decided to retire when he did. But Ed did a lot of good things.”
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