A former deputy municipal clerk is suing the city of Columbus for what she claims is wrongful termination after she was arrested in a 2013 drug sweep.
Virginia Watt was one of 17 people targeted by the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department in a series of January 2013 raids. Deputies arrested Watt on Jan. 9, 2013 for two counts of sale of hydrocodone.
However, Watt’s lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Aberdeen, said she was wrongfully arrested. The suit says she was arrested at work in front of her coworkers.
Charles Easley, Watt’s attorney, confirmed the charges against her have since been dropped.
The city suspended Watt with pay on Jan. 10, 2013, and fired her without a hearing on June 18, 2013.
Watt’s suit claims that under the city’s civil service system, disciplinary action can be imposed on non-probationary employees such as her only upon proof of good cause. The suit further claims that by firing Watt without a hearing, the city violated her due process rights under the 14th Amendment.
“(Watt) was discharged and discharged under false circumstances, which infringed her good name and reputation, making it difficult, if not impossible for her to find other adequate employment,” the suit says.
The suit also claims the city racially discriminated against Watt.
“(Watt) would not have been discharged except that she is a black female and there was no good cause,” the suit says.
Watt is seeking reinstatement and damages in an amount to be determined by a jury.
City attorney Jeff Turnage, in a statement issued to the Dispatch Thursday evening, said he was reviewing Watt’s lawsuit to prepare a response. However, Turnage said Watt was not part of the civil service system.
“The employee was hired ‘at will,’ which means the employee is not part of the civil service system within the city,” Turnage said.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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