CLARKSTON, Ga. — After the Clarkston City Council voted to end its work relationship with City Manager Shawanna Qawiy, she resigned.
The decision, and resignation, came Monday during a council meeting. While Qawiy was given a severance package after resigning, questions about moving forward remained.
Now, the Council on American Islamic Relations is asking Clarkston to investigate the proceedings, saying they believe Qawiy was forced to resign after suspending a white police chief.
Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes was at Clarkston City Hall to learn more about the city’s leadership changes and what might come next.
As previously reported, there had allegedly been ongoing chaos at city hall as the police chief and others claimed the Qawiy created a hostile work environment.
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Chief Christine Hudson said she was demoted after being suspended without pay in April and retaliated against for filing an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint against the city manager claiming she is racist against white people.
Several officers had also resigned amid the tension, fueled partially by Qawiy’s rejection of a proposed pay raise for officers.
In addition to severing their relationship with the city manager, council members also voted unanimously to raise officer salaries.
Qawiy’s supporters told Channel 2 Action News that they were there Monday when the council voted, but were not allowed to have public comment.
The meeting had been a specially called meeting, so the public was not allowed to provide input during the proceedings, according to Qawiy’s supporters.
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Before she suspended the chief, Azka Mahmood, executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations in Georgia, said there were no issues with Qawiy.
“There were no formal complaints about her work prior to her suspension of the chief of police,” Mahmood said.
Mahmood said she feels it was wrong for the Clarkston City Council to force Qawiy to resign.
“We heard from concerned community members from Clarkston who alerted us to harassment that she was facing, and asked us to look into the matter,” Mahmood continued.
She said there were no documented complaints until April, after Qawiy suspended Hudson.
The two department heads reportedly went back and forth for months, accusing each other of racism and causing a hostile work environment.
Qawiy also filed a police report in Snellville, claiming someone sent her a message that said “watch your back,” with her home address attached.
“A lot of the comments that we have heard that she received were colored with racism, with Islamophobia, and that is really why CAIR Georgia is involved,” Mahmood said.
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While the EEOC investigated Hudson’s allegations of racism by Qawiy, the former city manager hired John Pearson in a position of oversight above the police chief.
An open records request by Channel 2 Action News showed that Pearson was hired without an employment contract, and given a city-issued badge, firearm, and uniform.
A spokesperson with EEOC said creating that position seemed like retaliation, and added it to its investigation of Hudson’s claims.
Just two weeks later, the Clarkston City Council voted to separate from Qawiy and allowed her to resign, giving her a $68,000 severance package.
CAIR is now asking for an investigation into what led up to the vote.
Council member Jamie Carroll said Clarkston is ready to move on.
“It was a mutual separation, so I think we’re ready to move forward and try to do great things for the city,” Carroll said.
Channel 2 Action News learned Thursday that Pearson is also out of his position in Clarkston. He turned in his gun, badge and uniform.
The city has another special meeting Thursday night to name its finance director the interim city manager while they search for a permanent replacement.
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