Over the next few weeks, the state will consider taking acting Lithonia police Chief Washington Varnum's certification to be a law enforcement officer.
Among the things an administrative law judge will take into account is whether as a deputy DeKalb County marshal Varnum had a legitimate explanation for not serving himself a notice of a possible eviction.
Varnum apparently "couldn't find himself," quipped one of his superiors during discussions that led to his forced resignation in April 2010.
It was all a misunderstanding, Varnum said Tuesday.
Varnum resigned from the marshal's office so he wouldn't be fired. From there he became a part-time reserve officer in Lithonia. Eventually he was named acting chief of the Lithonia Police Department in January.
In the meantime, the Peace Officers Standards and Training Council has recommended pulling his certification, and he's fighting back.
It's now in the hands of an administrative law judge. A decision should come by the end of August.
Varnum said he didn't serve the warrant on himself because he was following an often-repeated rule that no court documents should be served at buildings that are not clearly marked with an address, which his wasn't. Further, Varnum said, he knew he was caught up on his rent, which should have meant the warrant was a mistake. And his life was going well so he was extra cautious about making mistakes.
"I knew I'm being monitored. I was two days from closing on my home. I [had] a good job. I'd remarried. Everything was going good. I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that," Varnum said.
Also, Varnum said, "I was working under a threat of 'if you mess up one more thing' I was going to be terminated."
But officials say Varnum had "messed up" several times and it wasn't just the notice of his possible eviction.
Chief Deputy Marshal Richard Berkowitz said Monday Varnum's history shows a man who does not belong in law enforcement.
"It was an integrity issue. First and foremost," Berkowitz said.
His forced resignation in April 2010 kicked off the investigation by the state Peace Officers Standards and Training Council, putting his career law enforcement in jeopardy.
Yet Varnum still got a part-time job, paying $11 an hour, as a reserve officer with Lithonia PD, which afforded him a badge and gun and made him eligible for private security jobs that paid $25 to $30 an hour.
POST was wrapping up its investigation when the Lithonia City Council decided in January to make Varnum acting chief.
Mayor Deborah Jackson said she was unaware of his history when that decision was made.
"We were looking at the people we had available," Jackson said."When I reviewed the POST report it didn't indicate anything was pending. It would have made a difference if we had known about it in advance."
All the same, said City Council member Darold Honore, "He's doing pretty good."
Varnum had been with the DeKalb Marshal's Office for 13 years when he resigned "in lieu of termination" on charges that he was incompetent, didn't do his job, lied and falsified a court document, according to the memo in his personnel file.
"It doesn't look good. It didn't sound good. But that's not the ... person I am," Varnum said Tuesday.
Every DeKalb deputy marshal is expected to serve each day 30 court papers — warrants, eviction notices and garnishment orders. Records show Varnum averaged 10 a day.
Records also show he often worked only two to three hours a day but claimed overtime.
Varnum drove his county car after hours, which was prohibited, and sometimes at speed up to 108 miles per hour, according to records.
Varnum was counseled and suspended — once for 25 days. Eventually he was required to keep a log that his supervisor reviewed. The agency secretly monitored his computer and put a GPS on his car.
Varnum said at that time he was dealing with a health problem as well as upheaval at work, and that affected his performance.
In April 2010 Varnum was given six warrants to serve renters who were about to be evicted from an apartment complex on Henderson Mill Road.
One of them was for Varnum.
Varnum said nothing and just returned the warrant to the DeKalb County State Court at the end of his shift. On the document he checked the box beside "defendant not found in the jurisdiction of this court" and noted that the warrant could not be served because the buildings were not "properly marked," a marshal's office guideline to ensure court documents are delivered to the correct address.
"You did know where you lived?" POST attorney Angelique McClendon asked in a recent hearing.
Varnum answered: "Yes."
But, he added, he was just following the rules.
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