A travesty that lasted over two months more than likely ended last night, when the town council of Latta, South Carolina officially rehired Crystal Moore as police chief. Moore had been fired by mayor Earl Bullard in April, and circumstantial evidence strongly indicates it was because Moore is openly lesbian. However, just hours after it was confirmed they now had the power to do so, the six-member council voted unanimously to give Moore her job back.
On Tuesday, outraged residents voted overwhelmingly to change Latta’s government from strong-mayor to weak-mayor, which among other things gave the council as a whole the power to hire and fire; previously Bullard alone possessed that power. The referendum results were certified on Friday morning. The newly empowered council’s first act was to declare that the contract of Moore’s replacement, Freddie Davis, was invalid. A week after Moore’s firing, the council barred Bullard from hiring a replacement for 60 days; Davis signed his contract just hours after the expiration of that window. However, the town code did not allow Bullard to enter into hiring contracts without council approval, and no one on the council even knew about the hiring until it was announced in the media.
Once the council disposed of that issue, it promptly voted to rehire Moore, who was immediately sworn in. Moore thanked her supporters and said, “I will see y’all on the streets.” She’ll officially be back on the job on Monday. Bullard was not at the meeting.
The council also voted to scrub seven reprimands for insubordination and dereliction of duty from Moore’s record–the official reasons for her firing. They had been issued after Moore discovered that Bullard hadn’t properly vetted the new parks director even though he has direct contact with children. Shortly afterward, councilwoman Lutherine Williams revealed that Bullard strongly objected to having a lesbian as police chief, and had been looking for a reason to get rid of Moore since taking office in December. This was confirmed when councilman Jarrett Taylor released a tape of a conversation with Bullard, in which Bullard declared he would rather trust his kids to an alcoholic than an LGBT person.
However, even if Moore’s sexual orientation wasn’t a factor, her firing was legally dubious at best. According to town policy, Bullard should have given Moore a verbal warning, then a written warning, then consulted with the council before firing her. But Bullard didn’t take either of those steps.
The meeting was held in the Latta community center after the town hall was sealed off with evidence tape. Reports of suspicious activity at the town hall prompted the council to call in the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division to investigate. A formal written request for an investigation is expected to be filed on Monday. Hopefully this wasn’t a last-ditch power play by Bullard. Now it looks like the people of Latta can get back to business.
Let us know what you think at the Liberal America Facebook page.
Darrell Lucus is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
