Complaint: Police Introduced 'Fat Camp,' Harassed Employees

SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- The former spokesperson for the Sandy Springs Police Department has released an explosive list of allegations that he and others believe have contributed to what he's dubbed as low morale within the agency.

The list of grievances, detailed by former Sgt. Ron Momon, outline what he believes were policy as well as Equal Employment Opportunity Commission violations by the command staff of the agency.

"Currently morale is low among members of this department, especially veteran officers," Momon said. "It is the opinion of several members of this department that the main reason for this is the perception that we are constantly being threatened by the command staff. There is a lot of negativity coming from the command staff that has a profound effect on the department as a whole."

Specifically, the complaint points to several instances that Momon and two other officers believe amount to possible policy violations:

• A major with the agency allegedly hired an officer "not recommended" for employment by the Administrative Review Board; allowed a former captain to bypass conducting an audit of the agency's property and evidence room; and referred to an officer as a "fat a--" during a command staff meeting.
• Chief Ken DeSimone rolled out a volunteer physical fitness testing program, "but used intimidation to get participation," Momon alleges. The chief tied the program to an officer's ability to receive bonuses, work extra jobs or training requests, Momon states.
• Mandated physicals on employees age 40 and older (the program was eventually classified as voluntary).
• DeSimone allegedly referred to one captain as "too old."
• The department targeted certain employees for a personal trainer program that would include a special diet. These employees, Momon states, were labeled as fat and were targeted based solely on their physical appearance. The program was allegedly referred to by DeSimone as "Fat Camp" or "Chub Club," according to Momon.
• Cursing and yelling at supervisors in front of new hires.
• Placing feminine hygiene products in a male sergeant's gym bag.

"Because of this toxic environment this department is not only suffering as a whole with morale problems, but we’ve lost several good folks in the last two months due to the environment, not for more money or a better job," Momon continues.

Momon said the complaints were originally raised in September 2015 with the city's human resources director. Carol Sicard, Momon said, was given a list of 22 employees who all had "concerns regarding the fear, intimidation and harassment present within the department."

Sicard told the officers their complaints were being addressed and handled by City Manager John McDonough and DeSimone.

Not satisfied with the response by the manager and police chief, the officers subsequently reached out to Mayor Rusty Paul, who Momon said accepted a letter outlining the issues brought forth by the officers.

An internal affairs investigation was launched and in April, the three officers were all placed on administrative leave during the probe.

"During this time, our name plates were removed from outside of our office doors to indicate we would not be returning to work," Momon writes.

The trio were subsequently called back into work, and were given a disciplinary letter penned in May by McDonough. McDonough demoted the officers one rank and placed them on probationary status for one year. In his letter, McDonough wrote the violated the department's rules of conduct and grievance procedures for refusing to follow the agency's chain of command.

McDonough stated the allegations launched by Momon and others were "largely found to be baseless," adding that many of the allegations were "stale" while others were "little more than gossip and rumor."

"I think these whistle blowers have been treated unfairly and disciplined unjustly," Momon states. "Instead of investigating the issues which could jeopardize the effective functionality of a law enforcement agency, three supervisors were systematically targeted and tagged as troublemakers."

While Sandy Springs does not comment on personnel or any pending or current litigation matters, city spokesperson Sharon Kraun did add some details concerning the situation.

Kraun said the letter sent to the mayor was written anonymously and when McDonough received the letter, he ordered an internal investigation to be conducted by the Office of Professional Standards into the allegations.

Once that investigation was done, a second probe was opened to determine if any personnel policies were violated.

The initial investigation, Kraun added, states the authors of the letters had "little to no first-hand knowledge of the complaints and made little to no effort to verify the claims."

"In addition, the three senior-level officers were advised by the HR (human resources) director to put their complaints in writing which they did not do," Kraun said in a statement. "Instead, they chose to bypass the city’s well-established dispute resolution process that all officers are made aware of, and in fact, sign off as receiving."

The city's policy goes through every level in an officer's chain of command, up to and including the city manager. Beyond that step, there's an additional step that allows for the appointment of an independent officer to review the facts and make a recommendation to the city manager.

Kraun also notes DeSimone recused himself from the case once the internal investigation was opened.

The city's deputy chief of police's initially recommended termination for Momon and the two others involved. Kraun said the city manager reviews any suspensions or terminations of employees throughout city hall, per Sandy Springs policy.

The 12-month probationary period handed down by McDonough, she added, included the opportunity for the officers to be assessed for promotion.

Patch has also reached out directly to DeSimone for his response to these allegations, but he has yet to respond. In a statement issued to WSB-TV, the chief denied making the aforementioned comments and also contested the claim that morale is low in the department. While stating his goal "is to foster a department that aspires to high standards," the chief added he maintains an open door policy that allows officers to rely on and trust one another.

Image via Sandy Springs Police Department