WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — At a tense Warner Robins city council meeting March 18th, police department spokesperson Jennifer Parson said Chief Brett Evans' retirement-under-pressure had officers on edge.
"Everyone that does service in their community kinda feels like, 'If they can do that to a man with 32 years of service, they can do it to anyone in the police department,'" she said.
Councilman Tim Thomas saw it differently. He argued it was time for Evans to go, in part because the department wasn't retaining officers under his leadership.
"We kept seeing officers just go, not for money, but we kept protecting one," he said. "Can't continue to do the same thing and expect different results."
He cited what he said, at the time, were recent personnel moves.
"Three weeks ago, we lost 2 officers to Houston County and a K9 officer," he said. "Not for money, they were tired of working here."
But is that true?
Did 3 officers leave the WRPD to take jobs with the Houston County Sheriff's Office within 3 weeks of that March 18th council meeting? And was money not a factor in their decision?
According to documents obtained through open records requests to both agencies, the answer is, "no."
Employment records from the Warner Robins Police Department show that since January 1, only one officer, Joshua Warren, has left the department to work for the Houston County Sheriff's Office.
So we can verify that three officers did not leave the department to work at the Sheriff's Office, as Thomas' claimed at the meeting.
As for the money question, while we can't know with certainty every factor that motivates an employee's decision to jump ship, we can know their salary.
Records obtained from the WRPD show Officer Warren was paid $17.71 per hour while employed in the International City. That pay was based on a 40-hour week, which equates to a yearly salary just shy of $37,000. Documents from the Houston County Sheriff's Office show he's now making $38,563.20, a raise of over $1,500. Whether that was a factor in his decision to leave or stay, we can't say for certain, but we can verify he's now getting paid more at his new job.
That's not to say that officer retention wasn't a challenge under Evans' leadership. Many, including Warner Robins Mayor Randy Toms, say that, like in many other departments around the country, it was. However, in this case, these particular claims were untrue.
Over the phone Friday, Councilman Thomas said he based those claims on conversation with police department leadership. He says he later came to believe that two of those officers resigned but actually did not go on to work at the sheriff's office.
RELATED: Hiring numbers show former chief Evans stepped down as Warner Robins police added new officers
He also said that although Officer Warren will be making a bigger salary at the sheriff's office, he'll have a smaller benefits package than he had at the WRPD. In Thomas's view, that means when it's all tallied up, Warren will be compensated less at his new job.