January 24, 2012 Former Mt. Zion police chief continuing appeal of his termination www.privateofficer.com
Mt Zion GA Jan 24 2012 A former Mt. Zion police chief is continuing to appeal his 2009 termination in Georgia courts.
In response to an order filed in Carroll County Superior Court on Dec. 14, in which Judge Quillian Baldwin denied former Mt. Zion Police Chief Bradley Forrister’s petition for writ of certiorari, or discretionary review, Forrister’s attorney this month filed a new petition for a discretionary appeal in the Georgia Court of Appeals.
In the petition filed Jan. 18, Gary Bunch asserts that because former Mayor Sue Bloodworth, who terminated Forrister in 2009 for “willfully giving false statements to supervisors, officials or to the public,” refused to serve as a witness in Forrister’s termination appeal hearing at the city, “the Hearing was a charade. And that is a polite and charitable understatement.”
Bunch argues that Forrister, as a permanent employee of the city, had a right to appeal his termination to the mayor and city council as outlined in the city’s personnel policy.
When Forrister was given an appeal hearing before the city council, however, Bunch said the city did not require Bloodworth to be questioned and did not provide documents relevant to Forrister’s dismissal to Forrister or his attorney. Following the hearing, he was terminated by a unanimous decision of the city council.
“By prohibiting [Forrister] from questioning [Bloodworth], [the city of Mt. Zion] prevented [Forrister] from being heard,” the appeal reads. “It was a critical part of [Forrister]’s presentation that he be allowed to question [Mt. Zion]’s mayor. But [Forrister] was not allowed to do so.”
Bloodworth terminated Forrister from his position with the city in September 2009, after it was alleged that he attempted to aid a Mt. Zion resident in getting out of jail in Douglas County. The city’s attorney, Alan Miller, said that when then Bloodworth questioned Forrister on his role in having the woman released, he attempted to lie about his reasons for calling the Douglasville Police Department.
“He was giving them a favor and not owning up to it. I think that [now] he is basically looking to clear his name and to obtain some sort of award. We’re not going to change our position,” Miller said. “We were successful in having this case dismissed and we plan to continue to defend the city during his appeal, and hopefully have the same result.”
Miller said that since the original appeal to the city council in 2009, the case was delayed for nearly a year to allow for Judge Baldwin to review the hearing’s transcripts.
The newest petition asserts that Baldwin’s order last month also erred, when it relied on the precedent set in a case in Albany, Ga., in 2009.
“The Carroll County Superior Court, in denying Petitioner’s petition for a writ of certiorari, relied upon Goddard v. City of Albany. But the Superior Court’s reliance upon that decision was misplaced,” the petition argues. “In Goddard, the Georgia Supreme Court recognized that a city charter could provide for a hearing, which would trigger the certiorari procedure.”
Miller said that if the Court of Appeals denies Forrister’s request for another appeal, he will have no more chances to appeal the termination.
“If the Court of Appeals grants his petition to appeal then he is allowed to appeal it,” Miller said. “Then that would be his last avenue. Then, if the Court of Appeals reverses the judge’s decision, then he would be back where he was before. He would be back to suing the city. But we intend to do all we can to have his petition dismissed. We hope to be successful here.”
Source:Times-Georgian
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