The Lithonia city council fired its police chief the same day he tried to hand in his resignation papers, Channel 2 Action News reported Thursday.
Documents obtained by Channel 2 included accusations from officers that former Chief Roosevelt Smith violated city policy, retaliated against officers, created a hostile/toxic work environment and promoted people who didn’t deserve it.
Those documents also revealed that 33 employees left under Smith’s leadership, Channel 2 reported.
Smith was fired May 7, more than two months after he was placed on paid administrative leave.
Smith told Channel 2 the council had yet to prove that he did anything wrong.
Deborah Jackson, Lithonia’s mayor, declined to talk to Channel 2 about the situation.
The GBI expanded its investigation from only Smith to the entire Lithonia Police Department after he was fired because of allegations of other officers misusing resources.
The Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council started its own investigation into certain officers’ actions, the news station reported.
Both investigations are ongoing.
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