A federal judge has dismissed without prejudice a lawsuit against the city of Columbus filed by a former Columbus Police Department investigator who alleged wrongful termination and violation of privacy.
Reginald Adams, whom the city council terminated from his position during an executive session of a council meeting on March 5, 2019, filed the suit in federal court in Aberdeen in May 2020. Also named in the suit were Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens and two other council members who are listed as “Councilmen A-D.”
In the complaint, Adams alleges the three council members violated his privacy and breached an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing by telling The Dispatch that Adams would be disciplined for taking a police vehicle and driving to another city while on duty and without authorization to apply for another job.
Adams drove the approximately two hours and nine minutes from Columbus to Moorhead in Sunflower County in February 2019, multiple city sources told The Dispatch at the time. Police Chief Fred Shelton learned of the incident when Indianola Police Chief Edrick Hall, who briefly served as assistant chief in Columbus in 2018, called him to tell him he’d seen Adams in Moorhead applying for the city’s chief of police position that day.
Though Shelton reportedly recommended a 10-day suspension as punishment, Mickens and other council members told The Dispatch they felt it was not severe enough, and the council ultimately voted to fire Adams. The Civil Service Commission later unanimously upheld Adams’ firing.
Adams also argued in his suit that termination was too harsh compared to Shelton’s recommendation.
However, the suit was dismissed Wednesday for failure to state a claim, meaning federal judge Sharion Aycock did not feel Adams had presented enough evidence to prove he was fired unjustly.
The order of dismissal says violation of privacy only occurs when the information shared is not a matter of public concern.
“Here, the Court … finds that the Plaintiff’s actions constitute a matter of public concern,” the order says. “Specifically, the Plaintiff, as a police officer with the Columbus Police Department, clocked into work and drove a patrol car outside of his jurisdiction for the purpose of applying for a job. Hence, the Plaintiff was using public funds purely for personal matters.”
City Attorney Jeff Turnage said the city is happy the suit has been dismissed, though he pointed out Adams’ attorneys technically have 14 days to respond by rephrasing the allegations in such a way that there is a legal claim.
“I just hope that he will leave it where it lays,” Turnage said.
Neither of Adams’ attorneys, Carlos Diallo Palmer of Greenwood and Tangala LaNiece Hollis of Grenada, responded to messages from The Dispatch by press time.
Conflict disclosure: Managing Editor Zack Plair took part in editing this article. He is currently in legal proceedings that involve the city of Columbus. Details are available in previous reporting.
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