2 officers fired by Jonesboro mayor after gun investigation filing lawsuit against city

Sam Sachs
·3 min read
10

Two police officers fired by Jonesboro Mayor Donya Sartor after alleging she pointed a gun at them are now suing the mayor and the City of Jonesboro.

Speaking with Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln in December, Daryll Triplett, who is suing alongside fellow former officer Godreque Newsom, said the termination was retaliation for alleging the mayor had pointed a gun at them, prompting an investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

While the end result of that investigation, for the mayor, was the Clayton County District Attorney reporting there was “insufficient evidence” that the incident happened, both officers were suspended and later fired.

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After the GBI completed their review, they said was no evidence of that allegation either. Investigators say the text message soliciting campaign donations appeared to be a general solicitation sent to several people. They also noted that Sartor shared several reasons they did not hire the man.

As previously reported, Triplett showed Lincoln his termination letter, which alleged the former sergeant had violated department policy by speaking with the news media and publicly criticizing the agency’s policies.

“What is that putting out to the rest of the employees, that if you go against Donya Sartor, if you say anything against Donya Sartor that she doesn’t like, you’re going to be terminated,” Triplett told Lincoln previously.

In October, Channel 2 Action News reported that the Jonesboro City Council had voted to conduct a misconduct investigation in September after multiple allegations were levied against Sartor. At the time, the mayor said the misconduct claims were a political witch hunt.

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Newsom and Triplett’s lawsuit against Sartor and the City of Jonesboro says they seek “damages and equitable relief” for alleged retaliation, and are seeking compensation for unpaid suspensions and termination “because they refused to donate to Sartor’s contested political campaign for mayor and because they participated in and cooperated [with] investigations into Sartor’s campaign finance violations,” among other allegations.

The court filing submitted on behalf of the two former officers alleges the city violated both the First Amendment and the Georgia Whistleblower Act.

Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that Sartor “violated laws, rules and regulations by, among other things, using City vehicles for her own personal use including traveling to concerts and parties,” and violated the law by “requiring City police escorts to personal functions and requiring City police officers to provide her private security while she worked out and when she went to private functions,” at the expense of taxpayers.

The lawsuit also alleges Sartor offered city employment in return for campaign contributions and encouraged city employees to wear campaign clothes, in violation of state law.

Those claims were investigated by attorney Tracy Lawson at the request of the city council in September 2023.

An attorney for Triplett and Newsom said the two former officers had filed the lawsuit and were waiting for the mayor to be served for the case.

The Jonesboro mayor’s office told Channel 2 Action News that they were aware of the lawsuit, had not been served yet and had no comment on the litigation.

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