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Politics & Government

Roswell Sued Over Wrongful Termination of Police Officer

Roswell's police department top brass have been accused of corruption and a recent lawsuit filed by a former police officer detailing examples of these allegations could cost the city if they lose.

In the early morning hours of Aug. 13, 2010, former Roswell police officer Maurice Bradford was doing his normal patrol when three of the tires on his cruiser blew out. The incident allegedly led to him being fired. He has since filed a lawsuit for wrongful termination, which is perpetuating concerns about corruption and abuse within the police department.

Bradford’s lawsuit, filed in the Northern District Court of Georgia on March 14, primarily focuses on the actions of former Police Chief Edwin Williams, who is named as a defendant. Two other lawsuits have also been filed relating to the police department. 

The police department, already reeling from concerns over morale due to allegations of corruption among the top brass, is now having its dirty laundry aired again through this third lawsuit, says Roswell resident Vince Reagan.

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“There must be a problem with all these lawsuits going on,” Reagan said. “Maybe they will make [the department] change how they treat citizens and their officers.”

However, some, like Mary Lopez, say the lawsuits don’t mean the police department is corrupt.

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“I think the whole police department shouldn’t be judged,” she said.

Roswell City Councilwoman Nancy Diamond, the city’s public safety liason, said she could not comment on the lawsuits. However, she said termination decisions are not made arbitrarily or by just one person.

“We invest a lot in our officers and its very painful when we have to lose one,” Diamond said. “This is not something that we take lightly; this is very serious.”

Diamond dismissed rumors that Williams was forced to retire because of the string of lawsuits.

“[The chief] was very close to the end of his early retirement window,” she said. “I think he was aware that he had many other opportunities that he wanted to explore; he’s still a young guy.”

The other lawsuits are from former Roswell police officer Neal Cobb, and Roswell resident Marte Berkowitz. Cobb is suing for being demoted because of his age. He is almost 60 years old. Berkowitz is suing over what she says was the unlawful entry into her home by a Roswell police officer.

Bradford’s lawsuit - which is the most recent - maintains that under Williams’ direction other police officers and even the city administrator, carried out a plan get rid of him because Williams thought he was a snitch who was leaking information to a local newspaper.

Bradford maintains that when his tires blew out, he did not hit anything and that is where the grounds for his termination was laid.

Department procedures called for the incident to be investigated. That report, filed on Aug. 19, 2010, found that the exact location of the blowouts could not be determined, nor could the cause of the blowouts. Furthermore, there was no physical evidence, according to the lawsuit.

Allegedly unhappy with the findings, Williams directed another incident investigation to be done for malicious reasons, according to the lawsuit. His motive stemmed from news stories which reported there was a pattern of corruption plaguing the Roswell police department. Bradford maintains that Williams thought he was leaking the damning information so he wanted him fired.

As a result of the second incident investigation, it was found that Bradford had not been truthful in recollecting what had happened when the tires blew out on his cruiser. The second incident investigation report was filed on Aug. 24, 2010. As a result of it, Bradford was fired on Sept. 30, 2010, after four years of service with the department.

Adding insult to injury, Bradford’s attorney, Cliff Hardwick, says that when Bradford applied for unemployment compensation, the city contested his rights to receive the benefits, stating that Bradford had been fired for violating several department policies.

However, after appealing to the Georgia Department of Labor, it was found that the city had no evidence to support its claims and Bradford won his fight to receive the benefits.

In addition to Williams, the city of Roswell, Ken McRae, Jeremiah Stephens, Kevin Smith and Kay Love are also named as defendants in the lawsuit. McRae, Stephens and Smith were the police officers involved in the investigation of the incident; and Love is the city administrator.

Julie Brechbill, the manager of the city’s community relations division, said the city could not comment, following a policy of not discussing pending litigation. Williams could not be reached for comment.

If Bradford prevails in his lawsuit, the city may have to award him at least $400,000, which is what he is asking for in compensatory and punitive damages.

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