March 11, 2025
The worker alleged the crew was ’ordered to empty their pockets, compelled to waive their rights to illustration, and compelled to submit a written assertion.’
The whistleblower behind the allegations towards Atlanta’s Division of Watershed Administration claims they had been subjected to signing illegible paperwork and forcibly searched when a supervisor’s pockets went lacking, Fox 5 Atlanta experiences.
In an investigation with the Workplace of Inspector Common (OIG), the unidentified man mentioned he and 4 others had been illegally detained and held in a convention room with a police officer exterior the door for hours. The worker claimed the crew was ”ordered to empty their pockets, compelled to waive their rights to illustration, and compelled to submit a written assertion.” One of many staff was instructed nobody was in a position to go away the room when requested to make use of the toilet.
The allegations prompted an investigation into OIG, with Director Yolanda Broome and Supervisor DeValory Donahue being named particularly.
Accusations additionally embrace the whistleblower being compelled to signal illegible paperwork and offering OIG with a light worker assertion, type, and assertion of Garity rights. When Broome instigated the unlawful investigation, the worker mentioned he was “traumatized.”
For the reason that investigation launched on September 23, 2024, the 5 workers members of the watershed division pursued whistleblower protections in a letter despatched to state and federal prosecutors on March 3, based on Atlanta Civic Circle. The letter, additionally forwarded to Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and the Metropolis Council, pushes allegations of fraud, the misuse of public funds, and ethics violations, together with these of metropolis contracts and improper metropolis expenditures.
Whistleblower legal guidelines shield authorities staff from prosecution or retaliation practices for reporting fraud, misuse of public funds, and ethics violations internally. Deputy Inspector Common Shelby Williams, who was listed as a letter signee, resigned the identical day the letter was despatched.
Among the summarized probes date again to 2023, together with allegations that the Division of Watershed Administration used “low cost and insufficient valve containers” for water strains. One other claimed a high-ranking Atlanta Hearth and Rescue Division official used gear and property owned by town for a non-public security enterprise. As well as, a Parks and Recreation Division official allegedly used a metropolis contractor to put in a fence at their non-public residence; the contractor’s bill was altered so it regarded just like the fence was constructed for a metropolis park.
One other probe targeted on Atlanta’s unsuccessful try and host the 2024 Democratic Nationwide Conference, claiming an improper metropolis council donation of $500,000 to a gaggle making an attempt to safe town’s bid when town code solely allowed donations to charity nonprofits. In an announcement from Dickens’ workplace, the letter was labeled as an “try and tarnish the names and reputations of not solely metropolis staff however non-public residents and social service organizations.”
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