WARNER ROBINS – Warner Robins Police Chief Brett Evans is not sure when — much less how -- the squabble began with Mayor Chuck Shaheen, but he’s convinced that it’s hurting the police force and the city.

Sparks flew during the general election, Evans concedes, but they have now erupted into an open flame, complete with allegations of police cover-up and corruption and charges of a “witch hunt” by at least one city councilman.

Evans, the police chief for more than six years, was a close confidant of former Warner Robins Mayor Donald Walker. He admits that and said he was proud of it. And the Walker family supported Shaheen’s opponent, Chuck Chalk, in the mayoral race. But Evans said he never took sides.

“As the election rocked on, I made it clear that I didn’t have a dog in the fight,” the veteran lawman stressed during a Monday interview.

Evans believes Shaheen has every intention of replacing him. “So I have nothing to lose,” he remarked. “If it continues, it will lead to a legal battle. It’s just not right.”

He believes a current Shaheen-approved investigation — based on a complaint filed by Julius Wilcox, a black police officer — is one approach to reaching that goal. Wilcox, who provides security at city council meetings, has accused Evans of racial harassment and creating a hostile work environment. Jennifer Keaton, an employment attorney from One Mediation in Atlanta, has been hired by the city to investigate.

Shaheen has a much different view. He said he made no campaign promise to replace Evans and does not have a problem with him.

“I’ve been working with him,” Shaheen said during a Tuesday afternoon telephone conversation.

He said his concern is not about Evans but about public safety. “We need to protect the citizens,” Shaheen noted. “They come first.”

The mayor said he’s made no appraisal of the police chief. “I’ve only been in office six months so I can’t offer an appraisal,” he stressed. “I can’t give an appraisal of any department head at this point.”

Evans said he originally welcomed the investigation and assumed it would be brief. “In fact, I talked with (Ms. Keaton) the first Tuesday she was here and she said she would be finished by Friday,” he said. “I purposely did not brief my people because I did not want to influence the investigation. But that was seven weeks ago and she’s getting into a lot of things including asking for overtime records.”

He said he confronted Keaton during a subsequent visit. “I accused her of dragging this out until she could find something,” he related, “but she said she didn’t know what I was talking about.” Keaton refused to discuss any aspect of the investigation with The Warner Robins Patriot.

Coordination with the city council and the paying of Keaton’s fee of $1,270 per day are emerging issues. Councilman Bob Wilbanks first heard of the investigation May 18 and fired off an e-mail to City Attorney Jim Elliott. The city attorney answered June 9 with a response to the full council and Bryan Fobbus, the city’s human resources director.

Elliott’s message had more to say about the cost of the review than its validity. He said the mayor approved the investigation and he (Elliott) had agreed to gain council approval if the bill exceeded his $2,500 spending authority.

Wilbanks’ strongly worded June 10 response said the investigation could be an attempt by the mayor to “satisfy his urge to crucify Chief Evans.” He added that the decision to act on the complaint “without council approval” could “raise eyebrows” since it appeared to be a “witch hunt.”

The councilman also questioned the cost of the probe, saying it “quickly exceeded the authorized spending limit without council approval.”

Wilbanks said the investigation was having a telling effect on the police department, causing officers to “suffer greatly because of this and other perceived attacks on the department and the chief by the mayor’s office.”

Shaheen denied any idea of a “witch hunt.” “Bob’s entitled to his opinion, but he doesn’t have all the information,” the mayor said. “I don’t have all the information either.”

For his part, Evans said he is at peace with the review. “I don’t see it going anywhere unless something is falsified,” he related. “There is no harassment. Anybody who has known me since high school knows I’m not a race person. I believe in being fair, but I also believe in being qualified.”

The Northside High School graduate said there have been other issues with the mayor, including charges of covering up information related to a break-in of the mayor’s office immediately following the suicide of Donald Walker. City Clerk Stan Martin and information specialist Chris Armstrong were accused but the Georgia Bureau of Investigation found no criminal activity.

“Even (former Houston County District Attorney) Kelly Burke — who would like to have my head on a platter — said there was nothing to it,” Evans said.

The removal and unauthorized disposal of tires from White Tire City on Commercial Circle was also an issue. “(The mayor) thought I was out to get him on that also,” he pointed out. “He thinks I do things like that to make him look bad. But I proved to him that I didn’t know about it in advance.”

The firing of a police department administrative specialist has also festered. “She was talking to the media on her own using police files and computers,” he said. “She was also looking into files that she had no business looking into.”

Evans said she was confronted and admitted lying. “My decision was to fire her and I sent the paperwork to human resources,” he related. “They agreed.”

But then she appealed to Mayor Shaheen, he said, and the mayor recommended the filing of a grievance against the police chief.

“She should have been fired 11 weeks ago yet she’s still on administrative leave,” he said. “The mayor won’t meet with me or human resources, but he will meet with her.”

Evans concedes that the mayor has the right to fire the police chief, although it must be confirmed by the city council.

“But you don’t just change a department head because you can,” he said. “There would have to be some type of turmoil or scandal and there hasn’t been.”

He said a leadership vacuum was created when long-standing Mayor Donald Walker died. “Somebody needs to step up and be a leader,” Evans emphasized. “I’m all for giving anybody the benefit of the doubt, but the mayor has alienated us when he could have had an ally. We’re not successful in Warner Robins because we woke up yesterday. The mayor has a tremendous resource under him if he’d use it.”

Evans said the discord is having a telling effect on the police force. “They know the council supports us but this is drastically affecting morale,” he noted. “They don’t know if they should stick with me or city hall. They’re scared. Instead of a unified, tight-knit force, there’s division.”

It is also impacting retention and recruiting. “It’s hard to recruit people when they can’t open a newspaper without seeing something negative about Warner Robins. It’s embarrassing.”

Evans said he has stressed that the department’s loyalty is to the city: “I’ve told my officers that mayors and police chiefs come and go, but they have to log 30 years before they can retire.”

On a personal level, the past few months have been difficult, he admits — difficult also for his wife, Tammy, and their six children.

But he said he has found consolation in his faith. “I don’t believe in a sovereign mayor,” he pointed out. “I believe in a sovereign God. Nobody can get me out of this chair but God. So I don’t worry what the mayor might do. I believe that and I live that.”

He’s not sure when the issues might be resolved. “Several city leaders have asked if I would be willing to meet with the mayor if they could arrange it,” Evans said. “I’ve always said I would be more than willing. But nothing has ever developed.”

More than the personal impacts, Evans said he regrets how the conflict is affecting the city. “If he would allow us to shine and show what we’re capable of, we’d make him proud,” he lamented. “He could have a very loyal crew over here if he wanted it.”