Lawrenceville police chief suspended after sexual harassment complaint
Lawrenceville Police Department Chief Tim Wallis is serving a 10-day suspension without pay after complaining about making inappropriate comments to a female captain.
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – The first female captain of the Lawrenceville Police Department has filed a sexual harassment complaint against the man who promoted her.
As a result, Department Head Tim Wallis is serving a 10-day suspension without pay. He insisted in a written rebuttal that he had done nothing to warrant such punishment.
In 2019, Tawnya Gilovanni moved from detective straight to captain, overseeing the department’s uniform patrol division. The chef said he wanted to promote diversity. He also installed the city’s first black major who also serves as the de facto deputy chief.
But Gilovanni’s complaints late last year sparked an outside investigation into the department which also led to the sudden retirement of longtime captain Ryan Morgan.
Captain Tawnya Gilovanni (R) has accused Captain Ryan Howard (L) and Chief Tim Wallis (C) of sexually harassing her. (Lawrenceville Police Department)
LAWRENCEVILLE CHIEF SUSPENDED FOR INAPPROPRIATE COMMENTS MADE TO FEMALE CAPTAIN
According to a report compiled by attorney Tracy Glanton of the law firm Elarbee Thompson, Gilovanni secretly recorded certain conversations with his superiors within the police department, including the chief.
On October 20, 2021, Gilovanni complained to Wallis about how women are often looked down upon in the workplace.
That’s when the chef said “because you walk around here like a Hooters girl”, telling him “go put on some orange shorts”.
In his official written response to the report, Wallis explained that he was joking because a day earlier Gilovanni had removed his uniform shirt when the air conditioning was not working, revealing “his pink underwear shirt”.
Chief Wallis denied that his actions rose to the level of an unpaid suspension. (Lawrenceville Police Department)
The report goes on to detail how Captain Morgan repeatedly sent texts of a sexual nature to Giovanni and sometimes referred to her as a “prostitute”.
Wallis is accused of not taking these allegations seriously.
Morgan abruptly retired before the investigation was completed. His union representative said the former captain had done nothing wrong.
“He saw it was a constant struggle,” said Vince Champion of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers. “If it didn’t work, they would try something else.”
Last year, Lawrenceville police officers voted to join a union, including Morgan. Ironically, Champion said Captain Gilovanni was cited by officers as one of the reasons they organized.
“They felt there were issues with the captain and the city manager with the way the department was run,” he said.
Lawrenceville City Manager Chuck Warbington did not respond to questions, but instead issued a statement:
“I have been troubled by the findings of the investigation and have imposed penalties on the employees involved, including a requirement for individual training. The City of Lawrenceville prides itself on being an inclusive and safe workplace for all employees.The workplace culture revealed by this survey has not met the standards of excellence expected of all City departments.This is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
Contacted, neither Wallis nor Gilovanni would comment.
Captain Gilavanni has worked for the Lawrenceville police since 2006. She worked as a detective until 2019 before becoming a captain. (Lawrenceville Police Department)
Chief Wallis was also accused of retaliating against his secretary after learning she was cooperating with the investigation. He denied this in his rebuttal.
Part of Wallis’ punishment was also for allowing his wife to become involved in “Lawrenceville Police Department operations.”
“Your wife’s participation and actions have caused morale issues for the department and, in at least one instance, issues of potential retaliation,” the notice of intent for suspension without pay said.
The report says Wallis’ wife “inserted herself into relationships with the chief’s staff and/or their wives, none of which ended well.”
In his written response, Wallis insisted his wife had “completely and intentionally distanced herself” from the department following conversations about her during her 2019 performance review.
“The Lawrenceville Police Department has always been considered one big family,” said Champion, who grew up in the city. “And they enjoyed their job working there. They feel that that family and that ability to trust the command staff and the trust of the town hall is gone.”
The chef is due to return to work next month.
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