Gary Jones, a former major with the Waynesboro Police Department and mayor of Grovetown has agreed to a $300,000 settlement over his alleged wrongful firing.
The City Council approved the settlement in executive session on July 17.
The settlement also requires the City Council to notify the Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission (POST) through a letter that Jones was not fired but resigned voluntarily.
“This was never really about money. It was about getting my record cleared through POST and getting my integrity back intact,” Jones said.
Jones filed the Burke County Superior Court civil lawsuit in February 2022 against the city of Waynesboro, Police Chief Willie J. Burley, Vice Mayor James Jones, City Administrator Valerie Kirkland and city council members.
According to the original complaint, the police chief fired Jones in October 2021 after three years’ service in the department. According to Burley, Jones did have responsibility for the funds and information relating to the city’s municipal court, but his investigation reached the wrong conclusions, undermined Burley’s authority over the police department and hurt the department’s morale.
In his lawsuit, Jones begged to differ and insisted he was protected by the Georgia Whistleblowers act.
Jones says that his research showed that people were paying tickets online, and some of that money was unaccounted for. Jones says that he didn’t specifically accuse anyone of a crime because the issue could simply be a computer glitch.
Once it became apparent that money was missing, Jones recommended that the police chief turn the matter over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation; instead, Burley terminated Jones’ employment.
Jones faced a similar situation in the past where he was terminated for pointing out perceived financial impropriety within government.
In 2015, as chief of police in Grovetown, Jones attempted to alert the Grovetown City Council of possible financial crimes being committed by then-city clerk Vicky Capetillo. The council fired him for pointing a finger at Capetillo.
Jones’ response was to run for mayor of Grovetown, and once he was in office, he requested an investigation from the FBI to look into the financial misdeeds and was eventually proved correct.
Capetillo pleaded guilty in federal court for stealing almost $900,000 and using the ill-gotten gains to fund a lifestyle that included treating her friends and family to cruises and trips to Disney World. She was sentenced to four and a half years in prison and ordered to make restitution.
Jones is running for a third term as mayor of Grovetown this year in the off-year November election.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
