Nearly a month after the city manager fired him and deputies escorted him from the Demorest Police Station, Robin Krockum is returning to his job.
Krockum reached an agreement in principle this weekend with the City of Demorest that paves the way for him to return as police chief.
Under the agreement, Krockum will be reinstated and receive a $20,000 cash settlement. He will return to work with his retirement, sick leave, and comp time intact. In addition, Demorest’s mayor must write a letter to the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Council absolving Krockum of any and all wrongdoing. The city also must ensure that Krockum will not be retaliated against by any city employee or elected official. The settlement also entitles Chief Krockum to consult directly with the city attorney on law enforcement and personnel matters.
Waiting game
The Demorest City Council voted on May 5 to reinstate Krockum. Until this weekend it was a waiting game to see if he would accept their offer to return. Krockum’s attorney Tom Kirkbride presented the proposed settlement to the city’s insurance carrier on Friday.
“Our goal from day one was to return him to the position of chief of police in the city of Demorest,” says Kirkbride. He acknowledges they had some concerns about the chain of command and future retaliation. “We were able to address those concerns and seek a financial settlement that, in light of everything that’s occurred, in our opinion was extremely fair.”
The proposal was forwarded to the mayor and council and within 24 hours they agreed to accept it. The council will formally vote on the settlement at their next meeting Tuesday, May 12.
“I am very pleased that an amicable solution could be found to what was a very unfortunate situation that neither Chief Krockum or the city residents asked for,” Mayor Rick Austin tells Now Habersham. “It was a poorly calculated move by some that will end up costing the city likely the entirety of our $25,000 deductible.” That amount includes the cash settlement to Krockum and at least $5,000 for the insurance carrier’s attorney fees.
The mayor says he’s “extremely pleased” that Krockum is going to return as Demorest’s police chief.
Humbled and grateful
The embattled police chief announced his return to the job on social media Saturday.
“I am very grateful to the Mayor and City Council for giving me the opportunity to once again serve the great citizens of Demorest,” Krockum’s post reads. “I wanted to let everyone know that I am going back to work Monday morning.”
Now Habersham spoke with Krockum late Saturday. “It’s been difficult,” he says reflecting on his ordeal. “I have a lot of unanswered questions.”
He also has a lot of support.
Krockum, who has kept a low public profile since being fired, watched from the sidelines as people in the community came to his defense. “I’m humbled by the outpouring of support I’ve received, not just from the citizens but from within Habersham County and even outside the county,” Krockum says. “You always try to have an impact on peoples’ lives, but you never understand it until you see it.”
Put on notice
If a settlement had not been reached, Kirkbride says they were prepared for a long drawn out legal battle – one that could have cost Demorest upwards of $1 million and resulted in possible personal liability for the defendants. Austin, Simonds, and council members Sean Moore, Nathan Davis, and John Hendrix were put on notice that they would be named as defendants in a potential federal lawsuit just four days before the council voted to reinstate Krockum.
The cash settlement the council has agreed to and will vote to finalize on Tuesday covers Krockum’s pack pay, personal leave, retirement, and insurance plus attorney fees.
“We were very generous in our discussion and final settlement with the city compared to where it could have been,” Kirkbride tells Now Habersham. “We just felt it wasn’t fair for the city to take a significant hit for the gross actions of a rogue city manager.”
While Simonds did have authority to fire Krockum, it was the reason she fired him and the improper manner in which she hired his successor Greg Ellingson that put the city and its officials in legal jeopardy.
She did not act alone.
Councilman Davis admitted in a letter to the media that he secretly met with Simonds and Hendrix to discuss city business. He says Hendrix’s wife – who is not an elected official – was even involved in some of their meetings. Mayor Austin and Councilman Moore were not. Davis personally arranged for Ellingson to be sworn-in by a judge after Krockum was terminated. “After Interim Chief Ellingson was sworn in, I participated in multiple meetings and conference calls with Councilman Hendrix and City Manager Simonds,” Davis says in his public letter.
The meetings they held and the actions they took as a result of them could still spell legal trouble for the trio. If everything Davis says is true, they were working outside the bounds of the city charter and in direct violation of the state’s Open Meetings Act.
Whatever possible legal trouble Simonds, Davis, and Hendrix may face, Kirkbride says he’s glad his client’s case is resolved. “It was never our intent to seek financial gain from the situation. We wanted accountability. And at this time we feel that Robin’s return is in the best interest of the city.”
Krockum echoes that. “This was never about the money for me,” he says. “I would never make the citizens of Demorest pay for this mistake.”
An exhausted Mayor Austin says the last three weeks have taken a toll on everyone involved.
“It is my hope that, in the future, such decisions will be thoroughly discussed in advance by the council and given appropriate thought to the potential ramifications and how they impact our citizens,” Austin says. “This is a situation that clearly could have been avoided.”
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This article has been updated with additional information
