EEOC charges stem from complaints of police misconduct and cover up implicating
Police Chief, City Manager and Council Member
ATLANTA, Oct. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The City of South Fulton and the South Fulton Police Department (SFPD) are under fire today after two whistleblowers stepped forward to file charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that detail a disturbing pattern of intimidation, retaliation and corruption at City Hall implicating high-ranking officials including City Manager Tammi Saddler Jones, Police Chief Keith Meadows and District 3 Councilwoman Helen Willis.
The charges were filed by former Human Relations Director Tanesha Graham and former SFPD Homicide Detective Joseph King. Graham and King are represented by Artur Davis (HKM Employment Attorneys) and Arnold Lizana (Law Offices of Arnold J Lizana III).
According to the charges, situation began when Graham launched an investigation into multiple reports she’d received concerning Lt. Shannon McKesey, the head of the SFPD’s Narcotics Task Force, alleging serious misconduct including the use of racial slurs, sexual misconduct, drinking alcohol while on duty and mishandling money collected during drug investigations.
“The SFPD had an opportunity to do the right thing here,” Davis said. “But instead of taking these allegations seriously, they lashed out against the whistleblowers and tried to sweep it all under the rug. That’s not just unethical. It’s illegal.”
Those complaints and the subsequent investigation prompted a harsh response from Chief Meadows who tried repeatedly to delay and derail the investigation and retaliate against the whistleblowers enlisting both City Manager Saddler Jones and Willis in his efforts forcing both Graham and King to resign this past Summer.
King, whose 100% arrest rate in homicide cases led to his being named the department’s Detective of the Year in 2020 and Fulton County’s Detective of the Year in 2022, has continued to be harassed by both Meadows and McKesey even after leaving SFPD in August.
“If they’re willing to do this, to go this far in driving out a highly-decorated police detective and their own Human Resources Director for standing up for the truth, then what wouldn’t they do?” asked Lizana. “That’s the question that keeps us up at night because, if these whistleblowers aren’t safe, then none of us are.”
Click HERE for a copy of the EEOC charges.
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SOURCE HKM Employment Attorneys, LLC
