The

Fayette County Sheriff's Department has asked

Judge Jack T. Camp to throw out last week's jury

ruling in the wrongful firing lawsuit of a former

department lieutenant.

federal jury in Newnan last week found that

former Lt. Joe Winn was fired for his actions

after a 1997 traffic stop involving the late

Beverley Watson's husband and ordered the county

to pay Winn $15,000.

While

the plaintiff is saying the verdict is

vindication for wrongful termination, the

defendants maintain the case is not over yet.

"He

was asking for almost $300,000 and the jury

awarded him only $15,000, so I can't see how this

is any sort of victory for the plaintiff,"

said Marvin A. Devlin, attorney for the Sheriff's

Department. "The verdict for them was a slap

in the face," he said.

The

eight-member jury, which included some Fayette

County residents, reached a verdict late Thursday

afternoon after a four-day trial, according to

Bruce Miller, attorney for plaintiff Winn.

The

defendants have moved for a judgment setting

aside the verdict, and that has not been ruled

upon yet.

Sheriff

Randall Johnson declined comment Monday, saying

that the case was not yet completed due to the

request to set aside the verdict.

An

18-year veteran of the Fayette County Sheriff's

Department, Winn was fired in August 1997 after

communicating with Lee Sexton, attorney for Jim

Watson, about the traffic stop in July of that

year. Winn was ordered by his superiors not to

talk to Sexton, Miller said, after which he

provided Sexton with a written affidavit

detailing the events of the traffic stop.

Winn,

a lieutenant at the time of his firing, went to

work for the Clayton County Sheriff's Department

as a deputy. "He had to start over at a much

lower rate of pay," said Miller.

The

judge asked the jury two specific questions,

should they find in favor of Winn:

� Was he motivated by a desire

to report police conduct that he perceived to be

inappropriate?

� Was he trying to avoid being

sued or having to testify in a civil case related

to the traffic stop?

The

jury answered, "Neither of the above."

Jim

Watson was stopped by law enforcement officers

July 2, 1997 while in his vehicle. He later

alleged that the action constituted an illegal

search and seizure and a civil rights violation.

He filed a federal lawsuit in that regard, and

Sheriff's Maj. Bruce Jordan counter-sued for

libel.

portion of Beverley Watson's remains were found

in Fulton County last spring, more than two years

after she disappeared. Fulton County authorities

have not officially announced that her death was

the result of foul play, and Jim Watson was never

officially named a suspect by Fayette County

authorities after her disappearance.

Both

Watson's and Jordan's suits were thrown out

earlier this year.

Jordan

has previously said that the traffic stop took

place after Watson allegedly drove slowly and

repeatedly through the premises of the

department. The windows of Watson's car, Jordan

said, were illegally tinted, and it is also the

policy of the Sheriff's Department to stop cars

that drive slowly by the jail area because of the

problem of contraband being tossed over the fence

to inmates.

In

the course of the traffic stop, Jordan added, a

handgun was confiscated from Watson, checked and

found not to be stolen, unloaded and returned to

Watson. That procedure is standard for handling

any handguns found on routine stops, Jordan

noted.

Watson

never refuted the charge concerning his windows.

Winn performed the traffic stop at Jordan's

orders, Miller said, and watched Jordan search

the vehicle over Watson's protests.

Winn

felt the traffic stop had no purpose but to

harass Watson, and the tinted windows were just

an excuse for Jordan to do so, Miller added.

Winn

was approached by Sexton about a week later about

the incident. Miller said that when the Sheriff's

Department found out Winn had spoken to Sexton,

Winn was ordered to remain silent. "He felt

that was wrong," Miller added.

Feeling

that the matter was being covered up, Winn gave

Sexton an affidavit about what he observed,

Miller said, and was fired Aug. 11, 1997.

Winn

then filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the

Sheriff's Department. "The First Amendment

says that a government office cannot retaliate

against an employee for speaking out on a matter

of public concern," Miller said, adding that

the jury agreed Winn's firing was an act of

retaliation.

Winn

did not ask for his job back, Miller said.

"He wanted his record cleared, and he wanted

a jury to declare that he was retaliated against

for reporting what he perceived to be an abuse of

police power."

Now

running for Pike County sheriff, Winn hopes local

citizens realize his desire to see that justice

is done.

"Mr.

Winn just wants people to know that he feels this

decision and the lawsuit itself shows that he is

willing to do whatever it takes to report and

wipe out any acts of police misconduct that he

becomes aware of," said Miller. "He had

to sacrifice an 18-year career to stand up for

what he felt was right."

Sheriff's

Department attorney Devlin said the jury decision

was nothing of the sort. Winn was fired, Devlin

said, "for disobeying the direct

instructions of two of his superiors, period. The

jury found that he did not do what he did to

voice any sort of public concern," said

Devlin.

He

said Judge Camp threw out charges in the lawsuit

against Maj. Jordan and Sheriff Johnson as

individuals, and also threw out a laundry list of

charges against the county, leaving only the

First Amendment question to be decided.

The

jury's decision, Devlin added, "was

contradictory."

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