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Details of police chief's exit wanted in DeKalb |
| Aug 26, 2004 |
Several DeKalb County commissioners say they will call today for a fuller explanation of the circumstances leading to police Chief Eddie Moody's abrupt retirement last week.
Moody, 50, issued a two-sentence statement when he announced his retirement and has declined to explain how he arrived at his decision. But his wife, Priscilla, said Tuesday she believed DeKalb CEO Vernon Jones, her husband's boss, had pushed for his departure and said she would circulate petitions demanding an explanation.
Politicians and community activists from both north and south DeKalb, often at odds over allocation of county resources, will gather at a news conference this morning to press Jones on whether he forced Moody to retire. Jones remained out of town Wednesday and was unavailable for comment.
Commissioner Hank Johnson, one of Jones' frequent allies, organized today's news conference. Elaine Boyer, a staunch critic of the CEO, and Judy Yates, whom Jones defeated last month for the Democratic nomination for CEO, will join Johnson.
Johnson declined to discuss the matter Wednesday.
But Boyer said the sudden departure of Moody shows the need for continuing scrutiny of Jones' treatment of the county staff. "We're asking to have full disclosure," Boyer said. "The people of DeKalb County need to know that intimidation and fear are not something we're going to let happen. Chief Moody is a great man of integrity."
Questions about Moody's departure come as DeKalb personnel practices are being challenged on another front. In a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday, four current and former employees charged Jones had pressed to replace white managers in the parks department with blacks to reflect the county's now predominantly black population.
The relationship between Jones and Moody appeared to sour last year during an investigation by a DeKalb County grand jury of the cost of the CEO's security detail. The grand jury convened after reports that the county had spent about $250,000 a year in salary and overtime for as many as five DeKalb officers assigned to protect Jones.
Jones has maintained that Moody determined the size of the CEO's security detail. But the grand jury, after hearing testimony from Moody and others, said it was Jones who supervised the selection of officers for his detail.
Priscilla Moody said this week that she had no idea beforehand that Moody, a 30-year veteran of the force, was contemplating retirement.
Moody refused again on Wednesday to elaborate on his reasons for retiring, and he declined to condemn or condone his wife's remarks. |
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