Bradley County, Tenn., commissioners on Monday heard new accusations of dishonesty, mismanagement and retaliation against Sheriff Eric Watson.
Commissioner Dan Rawls read aloud a letter written by veteran deputy Adam Beard in the commission meeting. Beard sat in the audience, out of uniform.
“I want to start off by saying that I supported the elected sheriff of Bradley County, but I’m concerned that a person in his position of power can lie and deceive so many and all the while claim to be a Christian,” the letter began.
It detailed what Beard said was harassment and retaliation levied after Watson thought the deputy no longer was supporting him politically. Beard said he was harassed because his wife commented on a negative Facebook post about the sheriff, that he has been the victim of retaliatory transfers, and that attempts were made to write him up and cut his pay on false grounds: that he wore shorts and flip-flops to the office and that he falsified a time sheet.
Bradley County Sheriff’s Office statement
“This letter contains unsubstantiated facts, which attempts to create a public spectacle of events that never occurred. It appears the purpose of the letter is to intimidate the operations of the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office, and was produced after a disciplinary counseling meeting with the employee’s supervisor. The Bradley County Sheriff’s Office has policies and procedures which govern disciplinary actions to employees, yet gives employees avenues to appeal those disciplinary actions if he/she desires. The methods in which to appeal this employee’s disciplinary action were never followed, which resulted in this employee distributing a letter to broadcast personal criticisms. The most troubling element concerning the letter is that it simply questions the integrity of our agency’s supervisors who have attempted to manage this employee, with some of them having over 20 years of experience with the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office. On occasion our agency’s supervisors are mandated to enact disciplinary measures to those employees who violate our agency’s policies and procedures, which is simply the fact when dealing with the various circumstances with this employee. B.C.S.O. is equipped with over 200 employees who are dedicated to the operations of the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office to ensure the safety of this community, and those employees who have received disciplinary action represent a small percentage.” Thanks, Director James E. Bradford, Jr. Communications Division Bradley County Sheriff Office 2290 Blythe Ave. Cleveland, TN 37311 Office #: (423) 728-7320 Cell #: (423) 260-1546 WEBSITE: www.bradleysheriff.com