Residents may voice their concerns regarding the legal liability caused by the mayor’s improper appointment of a police chief by emailing Mayor Skip Henderson directly at SkipHenderson@columbusga.org, while cc’ing their respective city council members on the email.
COLUMBUS, Ga. — Though the mayor may say he has appointed a new chief of police, the law says otherwise — and failing to follow it causes a tremendous legal liability for the city.
On May 5, Mayor Skip Henderson made a press release announcing he ‘appointed’ a new chief of police for the city. The problem, however, is that he does not have the power to do that without first receiving a majority vote of approval from city council.
No such vote took place, and city councilors are not happy about it, either.
Without that vote, there technically is no chief of police for our city at all — which is exactly the situation that the Columbus Consolidated Government now finds itself in.
Since officials have failed to follow procedure to actually appoint a chief of police, Mathis technically isn’t the chief at all and therefore has no legal authority to act on behalf of the office of Chief of Police.
Since Stoney Mathis has been taking legal action as the city’s top cop without the city actually appointing him as the chief of police, any action Mathis takes while acting in his role could be easily overturned if challenged in court.
THE POTENTIAL FALLOUT
Though it might seem like a mere technicality to some, the legal results of the mayor’s unilateral overreach are in fact quite serious — and they could lead to disastrous results.
For example: any piece of paper that has crossed Mathis’ desk while he is acting as the chief of police is technically invalid — and when it comes to the law, technically that’s all that matters. That includes legally-binding memorandums, orders, and other official documents that deal with the department’s legal authority to conduct certain operations.
In an absolute worst case scenario, it could lead to criminal defendants having the right to declare a mistrial on their cases and thus allow them to walk free, putting them right back on the street — because when it comes to the law, the technicalities are all that matter.
If an operation was ‘approved’ by a person acting as the chief of police who actually had no legal authority to do so, then there is a potential for any evidence collected to be deemed inadmissible in court under the defendant's Fourth Amendment rights; the search and seizure would would have been unlawful and thus would not be permitted to fly in court. That could result in a mistrial, or it could result in outright dismissal of the case with prejudice.
Either way, It’s quite the legal conundrum for the city.
This isn’t conjecture, either. It’s the law.
Check it out.
THE LAW
While Stoney Mathis’ impressive credentials do appear to be a fine choice for our city’s chief of police while a nation-wide search takes place, Mayor Henderson is still required to follow the law when appointing a police chief — regardless of however long or short the chief’s ‘interim’ tenure might be.
When former police chief Freddie Blackmon was relieved of his duties on April 6, a vacancy was created for a city officer. That vacancy must be filled in accordance with the law.
The procedures for filling that vacancy are very specifically dictated by the Columbus Code of Ordinances.
As stated in Section 4-320 of the Columbus Code of Ordinances:
“Vacancies occurring in the office of the Chief of Police of Columbus, Georgia shall be filled in the same manner as prescribed in Chapter 2 for original appointment.”
That manner of appointment in Chapter 2 is defined by Section 4-201, “Power and Duties of the Mayor.” Paragraph 15 of those powers define the procedure for the appointment of city officers, which limits the mayor’s power and prevents him from making a unilateral appointment without receiving an approving vote of city council.
According to the law, the mayor only has the power:
“Subject to the approval of six (6) members of the council, to appoint and remove City Officers as defined in Section 4-300 below.”
Given that the chief of police is a city officer as defined in Section 4-300, a majority vote of city council must be received before a chief of police can be appointed.
No such vote was held.
Mayor Henderson made the appointment without even bothering to notify city council at all.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Perhaps our city’s elected officials should seriously consider the extent of the liability they are placing the city in by not following the law by correcting the mayor’s tyrannical overreach and abuse of power.
Perhaps our city’s elected officials should seriously consider the two oaths they swore to uphold the City Charter when they took office.
Perhaps our city’s elected officials ought to help Stoney Mathis begin his tenure on solid legal footing by empowering him to properly build the department our city’s officers deserve.
That ball is in their court — and their constituents are keenly watching.
Residents may voice their concerns regarding the legal liability caused by the mayor’s improper appointment of a police chief by emailing Mayor Skip Henderson directly at SkipHenderson@columbusga.org, while cc’ing their respective city council members on the email.
Facts are stubborn things — and we’ll keep publishing them, whether city officials like them or not.
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