Fort Oglethorpe council member Richard Egeland said the public should hear the whole story concerning a recent arrest in which a police officer was accused of abusing his power and mistreating a cancer patient.

Immediately following a council meeting Monday, Oct. 22, Egeland took matters into his own hands after Ron Goulart, city attorney and interim city manager, ordered city employees and advised the council to not speak about the arrest or about the police department losing its honorary certification more than a year ago.

Both items had been on the City Council’s meeting agenda at Egeland’s request. But the council voted to strike them, along with all public and council comments after Mayor Judd Burkhart asked for a motion to do so. The rest of the council left after the meeting adjourned, but Egeland continued speaking, advising those in attendance at the meeting to keep their seats.

“The (police) chief was discredited, lied about, and wasn’t given a chance to (respond to the allegations),” Egeland said, part of the time talking over Goulart’s urges to be quiet. Goulart turned off Egeland’s microphone and stepped away from the meeting area.

In an interview later, Goulart said that because there is an ongoing investigation into the matter, he advised the council to keep quiet for now.

Asked if Police Chief Larry C. Black would be given an opportunity to give the other side of the story after the investigation is complete, Goulart said, “We’ll do some sort of press release.”

Brian M. House said he was representing Black as his attorney and had originally planned to read a prepared statement in regard to the items Egeland requested be on the agenda. They didn’t.

However, House, Black, Burkhart and Goulart met privately for nearly half an hour before the meeting, and House said he was informed that city employees “would be possibly terminated” if they spoke on the matter at all.

“He can’t even apologize to the lady,” House said.

Attorney memo

Danny L. Botts Sr. was arrested Sept. 20 and charged with having an expired license plate. His sister soiled her clothes in the parking lot because the arresting officer wouldn’t let her inside City Hall to use the bathroom, Botts told the council at an Oct. 8 meeting. Yet, when Black stood up at that meeting to respond after Botts’ speech, Burkhart told him not to make any comments.

Egeland said that since parts of the issue have already been discussed publicly, people have a right to know the entire story.

On Oct. 16, Egeland made the request for the items to appear on the council meeting agenda, according to a copy of a memo provided by officials at City Hall. “Under no circumstance is this not to be on the agenda,” Egeland wrote at the bottom of the memo. “I will advise the local TV and Catoosa paper.”

Goulart responded with a memo to the mayor and council the following day. “As your city attorney, I am advising you not to publicly discuss the matter concerning Mr. Botts as requested by Mr. Egeland,” he wrote. “This matter is under investigation not only legally but from the personnel standpoint that very well may require you to hear evidence in a hearing at some future date.

“Also, it is my advice to you that until I receive written documentation concerning the certification issue as raised by Mr. Egeland, that you not publicly discuss this matter and allow the written documentation to speak for itself.”

Goulart ends the memo with a warning that, as public officials, council members who discuss those matters publicly could expose themselves “personally and individually to liability.”

Egeland debates

Nevertheless, Egeland engaged in a long dialog with Botts, his wife, Beth, and at times, his sister, Diane Galloway. All three said they attended Monday’s council meeting to get more information about what was going on since their case has been in the news so much. Danny Botts said no one had asked or advised them to come.

Egeland said a remark he made in The Catoosa County News following Botts’ Oct. 8 comments to the council was not intended as a slur against the family. He said— and still maintained at Monday’s nights meeting — that the family was being used for political purposes as a way to get rid of Black as police chief.

Some council members have expressed concern about his job performance but declined to say why.

For several minutes, Egeland and Danny and Beth Botts engaged in a conversation in which Egeland repeatedly said he believed the family was being used. The Bottses repeatedly said no one had attempted to manipulate them in any way.

“I chose to come to that council meeting because I wanted you all to know the condition my sister was in,” Danny Botts said.

Botts later got up and left the council room, saying he hadn’t come to the meeting to make public comments. Several news media representatives had arrived as the night progressed.

Black didn’t comment on the case, but at a couple of points he urged Egeland to remain calm. Egeland had told Goulart to leave the room if he didn’t agree with what he wanted to say and called him “despicable” for the way he has handled the matters.

“Just keep it calm and have a discussion if you want to have a discussion, but keep it calm,” Black told him.

Black attends nearly all council meetings and is usually called to step in whenever a council member or audience member gets very excited.

However, Beth Botts said she too would like to let Black have an opportunity to give the police department’s side of the story. The full name of the officer who arrested her husband wasn’t publicly disclosed at either council meeting, but he was called down to City Hall just before the council meeting.

Goulart said he planned to meet with him within the next day or two and hoped to wrap up his investigation in about a week. He said that, any disciplinary action notwithstanding, the department will implement sensitivity training in the future.