By Matt Hennie | Apr 2, 2014 |
5:46 PM
A Georgia court ordered Atlanta
to rehire Sgt. Willie Adams, one of several police officers fired for lying
about their roles in the botched raid of gay Atlanta bar the Eagle.
Sgt. Willie Adams will be
reinstated to Atlanta police and receive back pay, according to the court
ruling. WSB first reported the court decision on Wednesday.
"He feels nervous because
he still doesn't believe they will actually do it," Mary Huber, Adams'
attorney, tells WSB. "This hurt this officer very deeply."
Turner suspended Adams and six
other officers in June 2011 and then fired him and five others days later. The
discipline came in the wake of two damning reports about the agency's role in
the botched raid in September 2009. Adams was fired for lying about his actions
during the raid in the later investigations, an action the city's civil service
board upheld. The raid cost the city some $2.7 million in legal fees and
lawsuit settlements.
A police union, the
International Brotherhood of Police Officers, paid Adams' legal fees. Last
year, a Fulton Superior court judge overturned the firing and the city
appealed. The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Adams, ordering the
city to rehire him.
"A careful and complete
review of the entire record, the transcripts, and the briefs of the parties
reveals that the superior court correctly concluded that no evidence in the
record supported the Board's findings," the court ruled.
Adams and Cayenne Mayes, also
fired for lying about his role in the Eagle raid, were later hired by the
Clayton County Sheriff's Office.
A statement from Mayor Kasim
Reed's office said the city "respectfully disagrees" with the court's
decision.
Chief George Turner dismissed
Willie Adams based on inconsistent statements Adams made during the City’s
investigations into the Eagle matter.
Chief Turner takes violations of the Atlanta Police Department’s work
rules seriously and, in fact, three APD work rule violations were upheld against
Adams. Adams’s dismissal was the only
discipline resulting from the Eagle investigations which was overturned. While the City of Atlanta respectfully
disagrees with the Court's decision, the City is prepared to reinstate Adams to
his former position.
John Geer