A Columbus police officer is serving a 30-day suspension without pay for clocking in and filing overtime for shifts she did not work.
Mayor Keith Gaskin broke a tie to suspend a Columbus Police Department officer during a lengthy executive session Tuesday, according to city officials. Multiple sources with the city confirmed off the record the suspended officer is Laketa Williams.
She also must repay the city for the misuse, once it is determined exactly what she owes.
City Attorney Jeff Turnage addressed the suspension during Gaskin’s twice monthly press conference Wednesday at City Hall.
“The council voted 4-3 to suspend a police officer and require them to pay back overtime pay that was not authorized by her shift supervisor,” Turnage said. “(She) was clocked in without actually working.”
It was not clear how many hours were in question, Turnage said.
“That depends on which side of the case you’re looking at it from,” he said. “The city had numerous hours over 12 days. The officer made the argument that it was fewer days than it appeared.”
The suspicious hours were reported on April 15, 26 and 27; May 13, 23 and 24; and June 2, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 14, Gaskin said.
Human Resources Director Pat Mitchell told The Dispatch Wednesday morning that she is comparing time clock records with overtime slips to get the exact number of days that Williams allegedly signed in without working.
Until that is worked out, Mitchell said she can’t provide a dollar amount that Williams would have to pay back to the city.
Turnage said Police Chief Fred Shelton recommended Williams be fired, but the council opted to suspend her instead.
The split among the council arose over whether to suspend the officer for 10 days or for 30 days, Gaskin said.
Gaskin said the motion to suspend Williams for 30 days was made by Ward 6 Councilwoman Jackie DiCicco, with a second from Ward 1 Councilwoman Ethel Taylor Stewart. DiCicco, Stewart and Ward 5 Councilman Stephen Jones voted in favor of the longer suspension, while Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens, Ward 3 Councilman Rusty Greene and Ward 4 Councilman Pierre Beard opposed. Gaskin cast the tie-breaking vote in favor.
Because police officers work 12-hour shifts, the suspension for 30 working days comes out to be about two months in calendar days, Mitchell said.
The council opted for suspension due to concerns over fairness, Gaskin said.
“There seems to be some question about how this is being handled within the police department consistently,” he said. “… What we heard last night was that some within the department believe that there’s more than one person doing it, but we have no proof of that at this time. We’re doing a review of that to try to find out what’s going on, and that there are policies in place for this.”
Shelton declined to comment when contacted by The Dispatch, citing it is a personnel issue.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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