Greetings Friends and neighbors,
Many of you have reached out with concern after my very serious collision. I am recovering well, and I really appreciate your concerns and prayers. Erica and I continue to be thankful to God daily that nothing more serious befell any of us involved.
As the news article pointed out, I was terminated from my position as Deputy Sheriff from Wilkes County for alleged policy violations. These alleged violations are in dispute and as such, at this time, I can not speak on them. The facts will come out at the appropriate time and I will be forthcoming with all of you when that time comes. As it often is, you simply can not trust media to be an arbiter of fact. Here is the place where I will happily discuss the gross aspersions placed against me. As always, you can use the “Contact Shawn” button at the top of the page for any additional questions and I will address them.
As far as previous times I have been terminated, I am happy to discuss them, and here is where I will give you the information to decide for yourself. I will not conduct a smear campaign, but I will provide facts and context.
The Georgia P.O.S.T. council is basically the oversight committee for all State of Georgia law enforcement officers. They carry the exclusive burden of determining what sanctions will be held against those that dishonor the privilege of being law enforcement officers in our State. Many things will cause the P.O.S.T. council to act against an Officer’s certification, and those things can be seen in the link HERE. What the P.O.S.T. council can NOT do, is overturn a termination by a Sheriff…even if it is for questionable reasons. The most you will see in these instances from the council is “No Action Taken” without certification sanction. Keep in mind that EVERY termination, 30 day suspension, or arrest will launch an automatic P.O.S.T. investigation. Due to a backlog of incidents, and only a small amount of State investigators, these investigations can take years to complete. I just received my investigative summary from P.O.S.T. regarding my 2021 termination from Taliaferro County.
Georgia is an “At Will” employment State, meaning that you can be terminated for almost anything with only a few exceptions. In toxic work environments, it is common to see a Sheriff “stack” terminations along with other attrition issues. For context, you can be fired by a Sheriff for not writing enough tickets (“Doesn’t meet performance standards”) , writing the “wrong” person a citation, or investigating the wrong crime (“Services no longer needed”). No, it isn’t a good policy. But it happens everyday. This is the type of toxicity which I pledge to NOT have at Taliaferro County Sheriff’s Office once I am elected. Every citizen will be treated fairly, with respect and dignity. Every Deputy will receive the same!
Taliaferro County Sheriff’s Office
I served Taliaferro County citizens as a Deputy and a Corporal at the Sheriff’s Office. I was hired under Sheriff Richards, by then Chief Deputy McWilliams, who personally called me away from other employment and asked me to come work at the agency. I continued to serve under Sheriff McWilliams after her election. I was terminated by Sheriff McWilliams following the traffic stop mentioned in the below letter from the P.O.S.T. council. The reason I was given was that my services were no longer needed. I found out later that the P.O.S.T. Investigator was told by Sheriff McWilliams that I was terminated for “dishonesty”. If you followed the link above, you will see that dishonesty is one of the things that will cause P.O.S.T. to sanction and even remove an Officer’s certification. As outlined in the P.O.S.T. letter, I have NEVER had my certification sanctioned. The recommendation of “NO ACTION” closes the matter.
As a follow up, the criminal prosecution of the offender named for Driving with License Suspended, DUI, and Possession of Crack Cocaine was withdrawn immediately following my dismissal.
For those not in law enforcement, there are two concepts of enforcement that the Supreme Court recognizes in order to temporarily detain a person. The first is probable cause. Probable Cause is what a Deputy needs to conduct an Arrest, conduct a search for evidence, apply for a warrant, or even issue a citation. Any enforcement action is based solely on Probable Cause.
The next is Reasonable Articulable Suspicion. This is merely an investigative tool. Black’s Law Dictionary defines reasonable suspicion as follows:
“Reasonable suspicion is a standard established by the Supreme Court in a 1968 case in which it ruled that police officer should be allowed to stop and briefly detain a person if, based upon the officer’s training and experience, there is reason to believe that the individual is engaging in criminal activity. The officer is given the opportunity to freeze the action by stepping in to investigate. Unlike probable cause that uses a reasonable person standard, reasonable suspicion is based upon the standard of a reasonable police officer.”
These two Supreme Court rulings are things that I and several other deputies, as well as the Investigator, attempted to explain to the newly elected Sheriff, as she was new to law enforcement and did not seem to have a grasp on the concepts. We honestly tried to help her build the absolute best agency, but our offers went unheeded.
As is clear with the information listed in the below letter from P.O.S.T., the arrest I conducted was legal. The investigatory traffic stop I conducted was legal, and the reasons given to P.O.S.T. for the termination were unsubstantiated. I hope this is able to provide clarity. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.
Thank You for your continued prayers and please pray for the other party as well.
Shawn
Vote Shawn O’Kelley for Taliaferro County Sheriff. EXPERIENCE MATTERS
