The Tri-County Journal
& Chattahoochee Chronicle
PO Box 850, 71 Webb Lane
Buena Vista, GA 31803
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formation of new police department
Community Calendars |
By RICHARD HARRIS
(From the Sept. 27, 2006 issue)
Judge Robert Johnston is expected to be in Chattahoochee County Superior Court this Friday, Sept. 29 at 10 a.m. to begin hearing a lawsuit filed by four Chattahoochee County residents who are seeking to block the county’s establishment of a police department.
The judge is also expected to once again speak with local commissioners and Sheriff Glynn Cooper in the courtroom to address their failure to settle their dispute over the funding of the Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff filed a lawsuit earlier, requesting that the court restore at least the majority of the funding for his office, which was drastically cut in the Commission’s new budget, which also allotted funding to create a new police department. Last month they met in court, with Judge Johnston stressing his opinion that the commissioners had overstepped their bounds with the drastic cut and ordering the two sides to work out the issue or meet again in court.
In the new lawsuit, local residents Sam Breland, Steve K. Nelson, Ezeal Thornton and Michael Sizemore are asking for an injunction to halt the formation of the new police department, claiming that Georgia law requires
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Their lawsuit cites Georgia Code 36-8-1, which states, in part: “Each county governing authority may authorize … the creation of a county police force. No resolution … shall become effective until the governing authority of the county has submitted to the qualified electors of the county the question of whether the resolution or ordinance shall be approved or rejected. The county governing authority shall establish the date of the election … If more than one-half of the votes cast on the question are in favor of the creation of a county police force, then the county governing authority shall be authorized to create a county police force … otherwise, a county police force shall not be created.”
The newspaper has not spoken to the Commission’s attorney, but it is speculated that commissioners may argue that the charter for the Unified Government of Cusseta-Chattahoochee County, which was passed in a local referendum, gives commissioners the authority to establish a county police department.
Breland, Nelson, Thornton and Sizemore are represented by attorney Richard C. Hagler, who is also representing the sheriff in his lawsuit. He believes the law is clearly on his clients’ side.
“They (the commissioners) flat violated state law,” said Hagler.
In addition to their argument that a referendum is required for the formation of a police department, the plaintiffs make other claims. According to their lawsuit, they believe the commissioners’ decision to form a new police department is “an attempt to usurp the authority and abolish the Sheriff’s Office.” They also state their opinion that if the formation of the police department is not stopped, “irreparable damage will occur … because a large amount of county funds will be expended and non-recoverable.”
The Commission has already hired a chief for the new police department and is in the process of purchasing vehicles and equipment.
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