Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Fired Chief Says He Was "Fearful Of His Life"

By Megan Matteucci

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Decatur police are investigating allegations that DeKalb County officials illegally detained former DeKalb Chief Terrell Bolton and stole his diabetes testing kit.

According to a police report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Bolton asked officers to issue arrest warrants for CEO Burrell Ellis, Sheriff Thomas Brown and county chief operating officer Keith Barker on charges of false imprisonment, theft by taking and criminal trespass.

Decatur Police Chief Mike Booker said Tuesday that the investigation is in the preliminary stages.

“We will work it like any other case,” he told the AJC. “We’re working with the district attorney to see if there is enough evidence to issue warrants.”

District Attorney Gwen Keyes Fleming said she provided legal advice, but is not conducting an investigation.

Bolton’s allegations are the latest news in his attempt to get his job back. Ellis fired Bolton last year, accusing the chief of insubordination, misuse of county property and acts unbecoming of an officer.

“Last year, CEO Ellis clearly articulated with supporting facts the reason for Mr. Bolton's termination as DeKalb County's Police Chief,” Ellis’ spokeswoman Shelia Edwards said Tuesday. “His [Bolton’s] current allegations are completely false.”

Brown and Barker both declined to comment Tuesday.

According to the police report, Bolton said he arrived to a meeting with the CEO in February 2009 and was led to a fenced-in area in the courthouse by several undercover deputies.

“Bolton stated he felt intimidated and thought he was being taken into the courthouse the same way a prisoner was taken into the building,” the report states.

The former chief said the sheriff then led him into a private room, where Ellis and Baker were waiting. Bolton told officers the room was like a “bunker” and appeared to be set up for “an interrogation room.”

Throughout the meeting, Ellis and Barker continued to threaten to fire Bolton if he didn’t resign, the report states.

Bolton said he was detained in the room for about six and a half hours. During that time, he said he had to be escorted to the bathroom by a deputy and was denied food for about an hour.

At Bolton's request, a deputy retrieved his diabetes medicine from his car. However, during this time his car was illegally searched, the chief said. Bolton told officers his cellphone and checkbook were tampered with, and his blood sugar level testing kit – valued at $50 -- was missing, according to the report.

“He felt intimidated and was fearful of his life,” the report states.

Last year, Bolton filed a lawsuit against the county, alleging he was wrongly terminated. However, he did not complain he was a victim of a crime until Monday.

Bolton’s attorney Nakata Fitch, who was hired last week, said that was because the former chief was too embarrassed to come forward.

The alleged incident occurred at the courthouse, which is in the City of Decatur.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Vern's gift that keeps giving! I mean you can't make this stuff up. If I was Ellis I would be requesting a grand jury to look into Bolton's misuse of county vehicles by an appointed official and indict the bastard!
If Bolton wants to play media games with DeKalb, then by all means the county should reciprocate. Bolton isn't going away, he has nowhere to go, and it is obvious he enjoys being a media hound. He will continue to entice naive young lawyers who should know better than to represent this drama queen.

Anonymous said...

I'd like an answer to the same question I'd ask a civilian....

"Sir, when did this happen? How come you're just reporting it now?"...if they give me lip, my response would be that this is something the detectives will want to know, so I have to ask.

Also... Sir, was that your car? Or was it a county vehicle in which you have no expectation of privacy?

"the former chief was too embarrassed to come forward".... What....did they pull down Bolton's diaper and rape him? Now that would be embarrassing and worth keeping quiet. Come on Ms. Fitch, you can do better than that!

Certified, Grade A POS!

Anonymous said...

I'm not doing so well in the civil courts, I better try a different tactic.

Not that I believe it will happen, but the thought of Bolton's return gives me the blue flu.

Anonymous said...

Hey Decatur PD, this is a quick one to clear as "unfounded". Come on, now really. If he had been the victim of such crimes he would have been singing like a bird the moment he stepped out of there into the media's camera's. All this time, meetings and hearings galore, and only now these nonsense allegations.

By the way, Bolton, you are not "Chief" you impersonating moron. Just what was your "intent" by referring to yourself as "Chief?" I think to perhaps make a concerted effort to influence Decatur PD to give you audience. I say a FELONY has certainly now been committed live on TV!!!

Anonymous said...

My, my, my Tebo. Your'e like a bad penny. You just keep turning up. For once in your sorry, pathetic life step up like a real man and finally take responsibility for what you and you alone have brought down upon yourself! You and you alone are to blame for no one wanting to hire you. Surely your good ole buddy Vermin won't mind rushing to your rescue and offering a helping hand. After all, "birds of a feather flock together", don't they? Nothing wrong with one thug reaching out to help another thug.

I'm Ron Burgundy? said...

I'm gonna punch you in the ovary, that's what I'm gonna do. A straight shot. Right to the babymaker.

Anonymous said...

Tebo should be arrested for false report of a crime and his lawyer should be disbarred.

Anonymous said...

Inside Decatur,

We aint doing sh.....t on this case, just LOL, we will make it look good. Thanks for the entertainment.

Anonymous said...

Schizophrenia:Any of a "group" of psychotic disorders usually characterized by "withdrawal" from reality,illogical patterns of thinking,delusions,and hallucinations and accompanied in varying degrees by other emotional,behavorial,or itellectual disturbances.2/A condition that results from coexistence of disparate or "antagonistic qualities,"identities" or "activities"

Delusion: A false belief strongly held inspite of invalidating evidence especially as a symptom of "mental illness"

This seems pretty simple to ME...but I'm no Doctor
American Heritage College Dictionary-Third Edition

Anonymous said...

I Googled Nakata Fitch and she is not a rookie, she joined the bar in 1998. No articles except the current debacle, but she is listed under a immigration lawyer data base.
It looks like she is a little shaky on criminal warrants, she should of hired a paralegal familiar with procedure to help her out.
I expect this to play out for two weeks to a month and then placed in trash heap of celebrity comeback failures.
To Anon8 thanks for the info, but you might want to be a little more discreet with an ongoing and a political investigation, you can bet Bolton's lawyer is keeping an eye out on this blog, if she is competent. Then on the other hand, this is a good test of her diligence as a lawyer.
Lets see how this plays out. It is entertaining and keeps me interested for a couple of hours.
The really sad thing is that most of us saw this coming when Vernon made his announcement years ago. My thought was "What kind of dick would allow himself to be Vernon's bitch in charge of DKPD?" Now we know. Vernon is a hell of a lot smarter than Bolton, but they both have ego's the size of Montana, which is where I hopefully will never see his sorry ass again.

Anonymous said...

Does Decatur PD even have any jurisdiction in the court house. Last I remember they wouldn't work accidents in the parking deck because they said they didn't have jurisdiction. Does anyone know if they've ever even handled a theft at the court house. Decatur PD "no jurisdiction" would be a quick and easy out.

Anonymous said...

Will he not go away? He is his own worst enemy.He promoted people who were qualified and some who were not. I will let you decide on that issue. He was an idiot and you have to remember the people who praised him while he was here. They were protecting their positions that he appointed them too. They all have gone and we are at a new beginning today.

Anonymous said...

Look at the officers he fired before they ever went to the merit system. He fired them before any hearing was held. He gets what he deserved.fro

Anonymous said...

Just how many mobile precincts did he leave us with?

Anonymous said...

Dear Bolton:

You were this big, bad police chief. Remember, you were never scared as you dared anyone to step up to you. Remember the days of talk to my lawyer, ask Vernon about it, anyone caught reading the blog on county time will be fired and dealt with, anyone affiliated with the blog will be dealt with, be careful who you vote for and all these other threats. You intimated officers, used your department as a revenue generator for county commissioners and then turn around blaming them for all the management problems of the agency and created all these useless task forces and positions. Now, you were scared for your life by a bunch of pencil and paper pushers as you used to refer them as. Oh, I can't forget, I RUN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT NOT CEO ELLIS AS HE CANT SAY SHIT TO ME. If you were a real police chief, you probably had to spend time prior working beats, backing up uniform patrol, serving warrants and arresting people who promise to get you when they get out. Real police are not moved by such as its part of the job. Real police realize that they may not come home at the end of the shit. Real police know to expect the unexpected from desperate and scared. Now, you are scared of people at 1300 Commerce Drive. What a bitch!

The people from Dallas warned you Dekalb about him but you all felt sorry for him because he was black and fired by the whites at Dallas city hall. He bitched, moaned all the way through Texas courts and still lost. People laugh at him now.

Anonymous said...

you all are wasting too much time giving that P.B.A.(PUNK BITCH ASS)too much dignity with these responses of his wishful thinking.Lets enjoy the fact that he is GONE and will NEVER ever be back.By ignoring a person who ONLY talks to himself,WILL SOON go away after he realizes he is only talking to him self. we should not criticize decatur pd and question what their ability is to prosecute any case.

Anonymous said...

Hell, I'm fearful of my life every day I come to work.It's part of the job.