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The Last White Fulton County Chief Jailer “GO BACK TO CANTON” By Bill McGill “Go Back to Canton” Kaye Burwell, lead defense attorney said in her closing remarks. Sheriff Jackson said, “Nelson just didn’t talk to me”. The final straw that broke the camels back was the look! The “look” the Sheriff couldn’t describe during a sit down meeting. The next day Dennis Nelson, Chief Jailer was fired. It’s tragic two accomplished and decorated public servants came to have such disdain for one another. The week long trial was a he said he said, pissing match, with the elephant in the room being race. The first African-American woman appointed to the U.S. Federal District Court, the Honorable Judge Eleanor Ross presided over the weeklong trial. The trial was from Monday January 23, 20<strong>17</strong> through Friday January 27, with a unanimous verdict coming at 4 pm. The contrast was clearly evident with the plaintiff ’s tables all white and the defendant’s tables all black. This was a federal civil matter and the jury seating of eight was split evenly down racial lines. The visual optics went even further as, every witness called by the plaintiff was white and every witness called by the defense was black. During voir dire, the very first question by the judge for the jury pool to raise their number to the question had the word prejudice in it. Juror number one raised his number to this Nelson’s September work schedule question. The process went on for a while until all the questions and numbers were raised. Juror number one was given the microphone to expound on the questions on the back of his card. The judge stopped him and, explained he would not be able to expound in front of the jury pool because, he raised his card to the prejudice word in it. The white juror stood as the judge told him and the jury pool, he would have to come back in the court room, by himself, to answer all questions because of fear of tainting the rest of the jurors in the court room. The former Deputy Chief of the Forsyth County Sheriff ’s Office became the warden or Chief Jailer of the Fulton County Jail holding sum 2,500 inmates 24/7 365 days of the year on February 8, 2010. In his short time as the new chief, the jail staff did not know him. However, the staff all new where he came from. Sheriff Jackson’s orders to Nelson were to clean up the huge mess the jail has become and, get out from under the federal court order consent decree. For those who do not know history. 1 Forsyth County is a county located in the north central portion of the State of Georgia and thirty-five miles from Atlanta. Back in 1912 one of the nightmarish racist chapters in American history occurred when white mobs terrorized and drove out the entire black population about 1,100 people. This was the white response to two incidents – the alleged rape of a white woman by a black man and the rape and beating of a young white woman who died of her injuries. A lynch mob attacked and hanged one black suspect. Two teenagers were hanged in public executions following a short trial. Nelson a graduate from Bellevue University in Nebraska and is presently the Warden, Clayton County Corrections Department and serves on the board as 1st Vice President of the GA Chiefs of Police. Sued the Fulton County Sheriff ’s Office for his firing in October 21, 2010. He was seeking damages in excess of three quarters of a million dollars for discrimination and being humiliated by being escorted out of the jail by Lieutenant Colonel Mark Adger and forced to wait at the curb with his bag for a ride home as all the jail staff watched him from jail windows. 14 | www.atlantaattorneymagazine.com
Sheriff Jackson Dennis Nelson Judge William S. Duffey on one of the last days of the trial gave Sheriff Jackson outside the courtroom these words of encouragement, “This, too, shall pass.” On the stand Nelson testified it was well known that Fulton County government workers face reverse discrimination. Defense objected and the judged sustained the objection. After a long pause, testimony resumed. The plaintiff ’s attorney Charles Bridgers claim stood on the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act not reverse discrimination and after reporting his disability when it became and issue. The Sheriff retaliated rather than make accommodation. Nelson contends that he suffered from sleep apnea, which required a reasonable accommodation from the defendant. He contends that the Sheriff failed and refused to engage in dialogue with Nelson about making reasonable accommodations to his disability. Further, contends the Sheriff discriminated against him by altering his work schedule creating false documentation of performance inadequacies, and by refusing to make a reasonable accommodation to his disability. Ultimately, after requesting a reasonable accommodation and participated in a meeting with the Fulton County of Equal Employment Opportunity and Disability Affairs, the Sheriff retaliated against Nelson by firing him. Nelson testified in the first quarter he was there he saved the county jail nearly $700,000 by cutting supervisor hours. Mainly by moving supervisors schedules around so sum would work weekends. Saw staff walking out to their cars with stacks of food filled containers. Changed the food service company to Aramark. Banned staff from brining into the jail their personal cell phones. Found that thirty percent of the jail cell locks didn’t work. Started a plan to fix the locks so inmates were not running loose. Began cleaning up the jail. Even asked to back date contracts. All of this caused many enemies. The result, backstabbing occurred and the staff revolted. Adger went so far as to tell the jury Nelson could not walk certain parts of the seven-story jail because, “They didn’t know who he was!” Adger ultimately became the Chief Jailer and the Colonel replacing Nelson and holds the position today. Adger told the jury he did not talk to the staff inside the jail nor socialized outside with the staff. As he said, “to get to know them”. Nel- Neslon’s first job performance ranking VOL. 6 ISSUE 1 ATLANTA ATTORNEY MAGAZINE | 15
Page 1 and 2: ATLANTA | VOLUME 6 ISSUE 1 www.atla
Page 3 and 4: ATLANTA | VOLUME 6 ISSUE 1 www.atla
Page 5 and 6: Table of Contents EDITORIAL 6 Miles
Page 7 and 8: ducted for a book he wrote about me
Page 9 and 10: Work & Life Balance HELPING YOUR CL
Page 11 and 12: UNDERDOG By Yona Pesman every clien
Page 13: they have been beaten up and torn a
Page 17 and 18: 35 By Proven Tactics to Maximize Yo
Page 19 and 20: Using appropriate search terms in y
Page 21 and 22: Authority Leadership Marketing THE
Page 23 and 24: The RMN Agency: A Legal Recruiting
Page 25 and 26: DEAL, CAGLE VISIT FORT GORDON, CYBE
Page 27 and 28: Supreme Court, where it was overtur
Page 29 and 30: Movers & Shakers AWARDS ➤ ANNOUNC
Page 31 and 32: MAGAZINE ATTORNEYS TO WATCH IN 2017

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