A Columbus police officer has been terminated for “fudging time,” city officials confirmed.
Mayor Keith Gaskin told The Dispatch he broke a 3-3 tie in executive session Jan. 17 to fire the officer.
“An officer was dismissed for improperly checking in and out of work,” Gaskin said. “They were saying they were at work but they really weren’t. They were basically stealing time.”
Gaskin, along with other city officials The Dispatch contacted Wednesday, declined to identify the officer. However, City Attorney Jeff Turnage confirmed the officer has appealed the termination to the city’s Civil Service Commission.
Human Resources Director Pat Mitchell, who keeps the minutes for the council meetings, said Ethel Stewart of Ward 1, Joseph Mickens of Ward 2 and Stephen Jones of Ward 5 voted to terminate. Rusty Greene of Ward 3, Pierre Beard of Ward 4 and Jacqueline DiCicco of Ward 6 all opposed, prompting Gaskin’s tie-breaking vote in favor.
This is the second time in recent months the council has addressed an officer improperly claiming overtime not worked. The first officer was suspended for 30 days in August 2022.
Gaskin said he wants to take a deeper look at how officers sign in and out of work.
“I think there needs to be a review of how officers are signing in and out of work, and how closely shift leaders are on top of the locations of the officers at all times,” Gaskin said. “One way this was happening before was some officers could sign in and out on an app. That’s no longer the case.”
Police Chief Joseph Daughtry declined to comment on the termination because it was a personnel matter.
“I can’t really talk about personnel issues,” he said. “The case was presented to the board and they made a decision. This department is going to be held to a higher level of integrity, and we’re going to keep on expecting the most from our department and our officers and that’s pretty much all I can say.”
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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