County attorney leading ‘audit’ of Polk County
A special called meeting covering a pair of votes and an executive session ended with quick movement on a request for an outside investigation of the Polk County Police Department.
County Attorney Brad McFall announced the response to a letter sent to the Board of Commissioners earlier in the month by Sheriff Johnny Moats with allegations of wrongdoing by Polk County Police Department’s administration.
Instead of calling in the GBI to investigate as Moats had requested and could have done himself, McFall will be leading an internal effort on behalf of the county to address the allegations.
He announced what he called a departmental audit at the end of a special called Polk County Commission meeting on Monday night which included a nearly hour long executive session held by the board.
McFall said all members of the Polk County Police Department are being interviewed in the coming audit, which he promised would provide quick results.
“I will begin that immediately, and I hope to have something back to the board by the next meeting,” he said.
Commission chair Marshelle Thaxton later explained the situation by stating that there weren’t any specific criminal allegations made by the anonymous officers to bring in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and thus their participation wasn’t yet warranted.
“We discussed several different options that we had, and we don’t really feel like the GBI will come in because we don’t know of any crimes committed,” Thaxton said. “We’re auditing all the other charges in there, and we decided Brad can get it done, and he’ll follow through with it.”
He also stated he had never had a county police officer address any allegations with him personally.
“I don’t believe I’ve ever had a county police officer come to talk to me about something like that, and no one comes to Matt Denton either,” he said.
Commissioner Jennifer Hulsey posted her comments on the meeting on Facebook, stating that she was concerned about officers in the department not being heard by the county government, and she would have preferred to have an outside agency like the GBI look into the allegations further.
“What I do want them (officers) to know is that if they are afraid or concerned or feel anything is being done to break the law they can come to me,” her statement said. “And, it is my hope they fully express their concerns in the audit that is being done with the police department.”
She also added that “everyone is innocent until proven guilty and our County Police Chief has the right to defend himself and his staff. And those that disagree with any wrong doing have the right to express their concerns.”
“I don’t know how this will all play out, but what I do know is I want the truth, and so do the people,” she said. “I am not on a side I am for the truth. Sometimes finding the truth no matter what the outcome is not easy, but as an elected official that is my job.”
Commissioner Scotty Tillery also commented on Facebook, pointing out that among the 10 counties that have separate police departments from sheriff’s offices in the state, Polk County is the smallest for the size of population and total square miles combined.
He said he got the information from the state of Georgia’s website.
Tillery also expressed that he wanted to ensure people understood that his biggest concern is for the safety of citizens and officers, which cannot be fully addressed unless the concerns are studied thoroughly.
Board members are scheduled to meet for their next regular session on June 6.
Commissioners are set to hold a May 24 budget work session and also have a June 5 work session.
Polk County Police Chief Kenny Dodd asked for more time before he would make an official statement on the record regarding the new departmental audit. He never responded by the end of the week.
Moats had no comment about the audit, which was prompted by his letter seeking outside investigators to look numerous allegations made by 18 officers to Moats. Those officers wished to remain anonymous, he said, due to fears of retaliation for coming forward with their concerns and complaints.
His letter also stated that if action wasn’t taken swiftly to address the allegations, the group of officers threatened to walk off the job.