As you may recall from some of my previous stories like J.B. part 1, I had mentioned a reprimand. This story will also tie into other stories. Well, here’s what happened. In the fall/winter of 1980, Novemberish? My good friend and riding partner Deputy D.M. resigned.  He left for employment with the Carrollton Police Department. He said it was closer to his home. (Dean would eventually become the Chief of Police in Villa Rica, Georgia.) But this is the story of my reprimand.

During my time in radio and as jailer, I began riding with various patrol deputies, getting a feel for how a LEO responds to various situations from a myriad of calls. Deputy Dean M was a favorite riding partner of mine. When he left, I continued to ride-a-long with him at Carrollton PD. One night around o-dark-30 we were told to 10-25 with his supervisor. When the supervisor pulled up, I was shocked to see it was a female.  A woman sergeant no less!

During the late 70s, to see a female working as a patrol officer was rare, but not unusual. But Sergeant? The unusual part was that she must have been one of the first females to be accepted for patrol duty in the State of Georgia or at Carrollton. From the war stories that she told; she went through the trenches. She had done and seen enough to have earned that shift Sergeant position, from what she told me. (See my Women in Law Enforcement.)

During our conversations in the shopping center parking lot, she said that the Assistant Chief of Police was at the headquarters, and she recommended that I go meet him. I was also surprised that any Assistant Chief would be working at 03:00 in the morning. The sergeant took over our zone. Dean and I rode to the headquarters, where I meet the Assistant Chief of Police. We had a long talk about my background and my knowledge of Law Enforcement. He seemed to be very impressed with me. He asked me to meet the Chief of Police himself the next day about an opening in patrol. I was off that next day, so I agreed and met with the Chief of Police for Carrollton, Georgia. (It all ties in, I promise.)

The Chief was friendly, and we discussed Laws and Procedures, and my history and background. My father working as an Atlanta Police Officer didn’t hurt my chances. The Chief appeared to be very impressed with me and offered me a job as a Patrol Officer with the Carrollton Police Department. I told the Chief that I was already happy at Douglas County, but that I would consider his offer. The Chief then said, “But, of course, I will have to check with your department to ask about your work habits.” I would have expected no less. On the way home, I decided that I was happy where I was. My S/O was only 5 miles from my home. The friendships that I had made, and there was the prestige of working for Sheriff Earl D. Lee. (See Honeymoon Trooper.) I also preferred the Statewide arrest powers given to a Deputy Sheriff. Police Officers were restricted from arrest outside their city limits. (Finally!)

The next day, as I was putting the brass on my shirt, I received a phone call from the Chief of Police in Carrollton. He told me that he had to rescind his offer of employment. I thanked him for the consideration and wished he and his department well. The Chief said, “No, no, no Eddie, you don’t understand, and you deserve an explanation”. He said, “I spoke to a Captain L.D. and he told me that if Carrollton wanted to get into a hiring war with Douglas County, the Sheriff would be happy to oblige”. Then the Chief said, “I have a good rapport with Douglas County and I just can’t jeopardize that”. I thanked him for his offer and thought no more of it and went to my night shift jailer job. I later “heard” that the good rapport, mentioned above, was from a car chase into Douglas County a couple of years prior. During that chase, two Carrollton Police Officers died in a violent car wreck. After arrest, Sheriff Lee immediately handed the driver over to their department for criminal prosecution. Our charges could wait.

As I said, during that time, there was an opening for a Patrol Deputy at the Sheriff’s Office. Some supervisors and deputies recommended me for advancement. My ride-along deputy friends also were putting in good words for me, I was a cinch. I was a senior employee to all the other applicants. I had radio and jailer experience. The other applicants did not.

We, the applicants, were excited and ready for the news to come out as to who would get the patrol position. On that evening, as I arrived for work, Sergeant Griffin said, “the Chief Deputy wants to see you as soon as you get to work.” The Chief Deputy is second only to the elected Sheriff. He was usually involved with the hiring and firing. I had no idea why Chief C.G. would call me to his office. Did I get the promotion? I was the most qualified and had tenure over all the other applicants. I was well liked by all.

When I got to the Chief’s office, I was expecting only good things. I could not think of anything that I had done wrong. I knocked and went in to find Captain L.D. and the Chief Deputy sitting with very “stern” looks on their faces. The captain was sitting with his arms folded with a scowl. The chief had both elbows on his desk and his hands covering his mouth. With the reception that I got upon entering, the “good feelings” thing was gone. But I knew that I had done nothing wrong.

The Chief Deputy started grumbling through his hands. “Eddie, we called you in here today to tell you that we are not satisfied with your attitude with the public.” I was in total confusion. Flabbergasted even. He continued, “We have gotten a lot of complaints about your rudeness from the public.” I sat dumbfounded. The Chief then said, “so if you have any other job prospects, we suggest that you might want to consider them now.” That hit me like a ton of bricks. I finally knew what this was all about. I was incredulous. My reaction included my own angry scowl with a low grumbling growling voice of my own, “You know I don’t”. The Chief then said, that because of my attitude with the public, I would be placed on six months probation. I then asked, was I not allowed to ride with other departments? They purposely ignored my question and proceeded to tell me about my punishment. I was told to sign the “reprimand” form and was dismissed. We had a military type of command structure then. You were expected to salute and leave. No questions allowed. There was no redress offered. Take it and go. Military style.

Detective P.M. was waiting in the hallway outside his office. Phil was in the Detectives Division at that time. He and the Sheriff were always very tight. I was not surprised that he knew what was going on with me before I did. Detective P.M. would later become a Sheriff of Douglas County, Georgia. “What did they do, Eddie?”, he asked. I told him only of the being rude to the public and not of Carrollton. I knew better. I said, you watch me Phil, I’m going to be the nicest guy to the public you have ever seen, and I’ll be off this probation in 2 weeks and snapped my fingers. Phil looked sorry for me and gave me a pat on the shoulder. He said, “Eddie, six months is six months.” What? Were they really that serious?

A couple of days later, as I was talking to deputies about the new patrol position. The Chief Jailer interrupted me and called me to the side. George whispered to me, “part of the reprimand also includes a no advancement shall be considered clause”. People had told me that J.B. would get the position because of who his family was, and I ignored them. It was within days of my “gig” that it was announced that congratulations were to be given to the newest Patrol Deputy, J.F’n.B.

It took six more months of penance in the jail before I was selected for patrol duty. I’m sure the higher-ups were impressed by my bending over and not making a stink about the reprimand. I was a good soldier. Six months later, almost to the day, I was given a promotion to patrol. It was the summer of 1981. Captain L.D. became a powerful advocate for me in the coming decades during Command Staff meetings. I could do no wrong in his eyes after that reprimand. He was even there to present me with my first Sergeant stripes. That reprimand was the only one I ever received in my 38 years of service. Now, I did have a few General Counseling forms over my career. Those don’t do that anymore and get back to work forms.

Rest in peace, Larry. My Friend.