The mayor of Milner, Georgia, acknowledged installing a GPS device on the police chief’s city-owned truck and positioning a surveillance camera near City Hall, triggering mass resignations and a formal rebuke from city officials.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The entire full-time police department in Milner, Georgia, has resigned after Mayor Craig Timmons admitted secretly installing a GPS tracking device on Police Chief Lamar Bunn’s city-owned vehicle and placing a surveillance camera on nearby private property, prompting a dispute over employee monitoring, municipal authority and trust in city leadership.
The resignations of Bunn and five full-time officers took effect Wednesday, Oct. 28, with most volunteer reserve officers also departing. City Manager Tausha Grose resigned effective Friday, Oct. 30, leaving the small community of fewer than 1,000 residents dependent on the Lamar County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement services.
During an Oct. 26 special City Council meeting, officials confirmed that Timmons had purchased the tracking device with personal funds and placed it on Bunn’s vehicle without first consulting the council, as required by the city’s charter.
According to Atlanta News First, council members explained that the mayor began questioning employee work hours in late August or early September and subsequently undertook his own surveillance efforts.
“Beginning in some time of late August, early September, Mayor Timmons saw what he believed to be a problem with personnel work hours. Without first bringing those issues to the council as required in our charter, he took it upon himself to purchase a tracker with personal funds and place that tracker on Chief Bunn’s vehicle, which is a city-owned vehicle,” the council stated.
The mayor also installed a camera on private property facing City Hall, where Bunn maintained his office. Timmons said the property owner had authorized the camera’s placement.
In an interview with WSB-TV investigative reporter Mark Winne, Timmons directly acknowledged installing both devices.
Asked whether he had placed a tracking device on the police chief’s vehicle, Timmons responded, “Yes sir, I did.”
When questioned about installing a camera behind a car wash facing the building containing Bunn’s office, the mayor again confirmed his actions.
“Yes, City Hall, yes sir, and with approval from the property owner,” Timmons said.
Timmons defended his conduct by explaining that he had concerns about Bunn’s timesheets, which required the mayor’s signature. He said his responsibilities as mayor extended beyond ceremonial duties and included accountability for municipal operations.
“The mayor’s position is not just shaking hands and kissing babies,” Timmons said.
Bunn disputed the implication that his timesheets were inaccurate, arguing that police leadership responsibilities regularly extend beyond office hours and city boundaries.
“My job doesn’t stop when I leave the office,” Bunn told WSB-TV.
The former chief said his responsibilities included answering emails, monitoring police radio communications and handling administrative matters remotely. He also described performing work-related duties while traveling outside Georgia, including during a vacation in Panama City.
Bunn maintained that Grose, who supervised his work as city manager, understood his responsibilities and approved the manner in which he performed them.
Assistant Police Chief Chris Landers also defended Bunn’s work practices, explaining that officers frequently respond to telephone calls and perform official responsibilities outside scheduled shifts.
“I believe so. Yes, sir. … It’s very common for us to work outside the city. It’s not uncommon for us to get phone calls after hours,” Landers said when asked whether Bunn accurately documented his work.
The surveillance dispute became public during the Oct. 19 City Council meeting, when Bunn and other employees announced their resignations.
At that meeting, Timmons initially declined to answer questions about whether he had installed the tracker. He subsequently confirmed doing so during the television interview.
Bunn said the undisclosed monitoring destroyed his confidence in city leadership. Although he acknowledged that municipalities may have legitimate reasons to monitor government-owned vehicles, he objected to tracking conducted without established procedures or authorization.
“We have cameras and trackers on us and no one authorized it; no one knew about it,” Bunn said during the council meeting, according to local reporting by The Herald Gazette.
“I would like to repair what’s broken but I don’t think we can,” he added.
The departing chief also denied rumors alleging that he had an inappropriate relationship with Grose.
“I have been accused of having an affair with the city manager,” Bunn said, rejecting the allegation.
Grose similarly attributed her departure to deteriorating relationships with elected officials rather than disagreements over employment policies.
“The trust is gone. I have been rendered ineffective in my position,” Grose said during the Oct. 19 meeting, according to CBS News Atlanta.
“There is no trust,” she added.
The dispute also involved restrictions affecting officers who worked additional jobs outside their regular municipal responsibilities.
Some departing officers said proposed limits on using city vehicles for outside employment contributed to their dissatisfaction. However, Bunn and Grose emphasized that the central reason for their resignations was the breakdown in trust with elected leadership.
Timmons disputed suggestions that he had categorically prohibited outside employment, describing the matter as a misunderstanding over municipal vehicle policies.
The City Council subsequently censured the mayor for conducting surveillance without following the procedures established in Milner’s charter.
Council members said Timmons should have presented concerns about employee schedules and timesheets through the appropriate administrative channels rather than independently purchasing and installing monitoring equipment.
The mayor acknowledged that he had not anticipated the resignations and expressed regret over the resulting disruption.
He also said he believed the city could rebuild its police department and had already received unsolicited applications from individuals interested in law enforcement and administrative positions.
The sudden departures created uncertainty over public safety arrangements in Milner, a Lamar County community approximately 45 miles south of Atlanta.
Lamar County Sheriff Brad White said deputies would continue responding to emergency calls within the city, as they had previously done. However, maintaining police coverage over an extended period without a municipal department could require a formal service agreement between the city and sheriff’s office.
The resignations also affected local government administration because Grose’s departure left the city without its principal administrative official.
Former Milner City Council member Skip Seda expressed concern about the municipality’s ability to function without its police department and city manager.
“I think the city’s basically doomed. I really do, and I hate that,” Seda told Atlanta News First.
“On the day after Oct. 30, nobody’s running this city!” he added.
Seda said he would consider advocating for the city to become an unincorporated community, arguing that Milner’s charter requires the municipality to maintain its own police department.
The possibility of dissolving the municipality remains a proposal rather than an announced government action.
Bunn has also indicated that he consulted an outside law enforcement agency about whether installing the tracking device without his knowledge violated applicable laws or his legal rights.
Councilman Ryan Lewis said he understood that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation was examining the circumstances surrounding the tracker, although the agency had not publicly announced findings establishing criminal wrongdoing.
By Oct. 28, the resignations had become effective, and Atlanta News First reported that Landers was among the officers leaving the department.
“It’s disappointing. It’s not anything any of us wanted,” Landers said as he prepared to turn in his badge.
The controversy has left Milner officials facing the immediate responsibilities of restoring police staffing, arranging continued law enforcement coverage and filling the city manager position, while questions remain over the mayor’s surveillance methods and adherence to municipal procedures.
Original article
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