Investigation of former Savannah-Chatham police chief Willie Lovett

8/13/2019 Investigation of former Savannah-Chatham police chief Willie Lovett

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A. Scope of the EngagementOn October 4, 2013 MDBI was engaged by the City of Savannah City Attorney to rc-open andre-conduct the investigations conducted by Savannah Chatham Mehopolitan Police Deparlment(SCMPD) Internal Affairs (IA) for the purpose of: (a) determining if the IA investigations wereinterfered with and, if so, by whom and fol what reason; and (b) determining facts that theActing SCMPD Chief can use in making personnel and management decisions. [n carrying outits investigation, MDBI was to review all documentation provided by the City Attomeyregarding this matter and conduct such interviews as were deemed necessary to determine thetrue facts,

B. BacksroundThis investigation concems certain activities of law enforcement employees of SCMPD duringthe 2009-2010 time period. Virtually all ofthese activities took place in the context of narcoticstra{ficking investigations being pursued by elements of the Chatham-Savannah CounterNarcotics Team (CNT), a multi-agency task force founded in i994 to serve the drug enforcement

needs of the greater Savannah area.The principal participants and their roles in the events that unfolded in 2008-2010 will be thesubject of following sections of this report, Succinctly, however, this investigation revolvesaround the following: In June 2008 CNT began to receive information from a confidential sourceabout a trafficking organization in the Savannah Metro area. A case was opened and one of thekey players in this organization was delernrined to be an individual identified as James Williams.It was determined that James Witliams was employed as a Correctional Offrcer at Coastal StateCorrectional lnstitute and that he had a brother identified as Willet Williams who was anSCMPD Officer assigned to the Patrol Division. The case targeting the James Williamsorganization was led by SCMPD Officer Peter Delatorre, who was on assignment to the CNT.Among numerous others on Delatore's investigative team was SCMPD Offrcer Malik Khaalis,also on assignment to the CNT. The Williams case did not proceed as well as the officers hadhoped it would and disturbing source information was being received indicating lhe possibleinvolvement of police offrcers perfomring escort duties for drug transactions, Khaalis, who hadcome under some suspicion by CNT officers because ofunusual behavior, such as attempting toaccess investigative information with no clear need to know, took part in an April 16,2009surveillance of James Williams. All indications to the surveillance team were that thesurveillance had been compromised. When the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), whichwas also working on the Williams case, obtained toll records for Willet Williams' phone, it waslearned that during the surveillance there had been seven conlacts between Willet Williams and

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Khaalis, The toll recot'ds furthcr revealed a subsequent series of calls from Willet Williams to hisbrother James precisely at the time that James was exhibiting alerted behavior, such as appearingto look in the vicinity of his house for the presence of surveillants. At this point the case wasmoved to the DEA office without the knowledge of Khaalis.At about the same time the James Williams case was being conduoted, SCMPD Officer MikeDelatoue, who was on assignment to CNT, was leading an investigation of a traffickingorganization involving an individual identified as Josh Varner. Therr werc court-orderedwiretaps on Varner and other members of the organization. Khaalis and other CNT officersperformed monitoring duties on these electronic suweillances from the wirc room at CNT.Khaalis developed a disturbing pattern of disappearing from the wirrc rcom withoutauthorization, on at least one occasion immediately subsequent to a minimization briefingconcerning a tap that was about to go live on Varner. On this occasion the first incomingintercepted call advised Vamer to drop his phone, meaning to discontinue use ofthe phone. Ontwo other occasions Varner dropped his phone shortly after a wiretap wenl live, CNT officersnow had strong reason to heliove that Varner was being tipped offby a source inside CNT. Thecase was moved to the DEA office, where, without Khaalis' knowledge, a fourth wiretap wasinitiated on Vamr. On this occasion sufficient evidence was obtaincd to lead to evenh.ralindictment of Varner. It was then decided to nrove the case back to the CNT office wherrc it wasmade to appear the fourth wirrtap was about to be initiated anew. In short order after the tapwent live, Varner dropped his phone.Early in 2010 Khaalis and two other CNT officers were monitoring a wiretap on a traffickingassociate ofVarner when a call was intercepted indicating that a meeting would be taking placebetween the associate and a female. Khaalis left the wire room without pelrnission and shortlyafterwatds the two remaining CNT oftrcers heard him on the police radio requesting that a patrolunit make a stop of the female's car. While the reason for this action was never determined,Khaalis at the time inlormed his supervisor, Lt. Russ Smith, that he had discussed the stop rviththe case agenl, Mike Delatone. This was almost immediately determined to be a lie.Throughout April and May 2010 Khaalis continued to exhibit what was deemed by CNT to besuspicious behaviol and in June,2010 CNT and the FBI (which had followed this matter from apolice corruption perspective), once having determined that a federal criminal prosecution wouldnot go forward, tumed over the information they had on Willet Williams and Khaalis to SCMPDInternal Affairs (lA) for adnrinistrative handling by the deparlment. Khaalis was placed onAdminishative Leave with pay for the pendency of the IA investigation. Willett Williamsrcmained on active duty, Shortly after being placed on Administrative Leave, Khaalis agreed totake an FBI polygraph exam on the issues of: (a) whether he had warned Willet Williams that hisbrother James was under CNT investigation; and (b) if he had ever used his position to protectanyone involved in illegal drug trafficking. To both questions he answered no and on bothanswers he was judged to have shown deception. After an IA investigation considerably limited

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in scope, a lpot was issued by IA recommending the cases against Khaalis and Williams beclosed due to a failure to find any policy violations in the information furnished by the FBI andCNT. By that time Khaalis had been returned to active duty three months earlier at the directionof SCMPD Chief Willie Lovett.Upon learning that Khaalis had been returned to duty, CNT Director Roy Hanis sent a sharplyworded memorandum and supplemental report dated Septernber 24,2010 to the Chatham CountyManager, who, in turn, had it personally delivercd it to Chief Lovett by the Chatham CountyAttomey. Upon learning in November, 2010 tlut SCMPD had closed the IA case and decidedthat Khaalis merited no disciplinary action, Dilectol Harris made oflicial notification with a copyofhis September memorandum and rcport to the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and TrainingCouncil.

C. MethodologvInformed by a detailed review of documentation, to include an SCMPD IA report covered by aLetter of Transmittal dated November 16, 2010, audio tapes of interviews of Willet Williams andMaf ik Khaalis, and a September 24,2010 mentotandum rvith accompanying supplemental reportauthord by CNT Director Roy Hamis, MDBI investigators interviewed more than two dozenindividuals who were believed to have knowledge gennane to this investigation.IL Summarv of Investisation

A. Concerning Sergeant Malik KhaalisA review of records indicates that Malik Khaalis was assigned to the CNT in about 2004 andfrom about 2006 was assigned to the Major Case Unit of CNT. An interview of a CNT Officer'characterized by Interim Chief Tolbert as having a reputation for being a strong investigator anda strong leader indicates that in his early yeals at CNT Khaalis was viewed as aggressive andhard working, a go getter . As time went on, however, Khaalis' performance declined and itseemed to be that whenever he was involved in a case it would lose momentum. And, accordingto this individual, he seerned to be always inappropriately trying to inserl himself into otherofficers' cases.The focus of the MDBI inquiry conceming Kiaalis is on the timeframe of approximately mid2008 thncugh late 2010. The exact sequence of events is utrcertain because of the passage of timeand imperfect memories, but it can be said that most of Khaalis' suspect activities wereassociated with the James Williams and Josh Varner trafficking cases. In June, 2008 CNTperformed a car stop that resulted in the development of an informant (T-2) who furnishedsufficient information to open a narcotics ttafficking case on James Williams. Pete Delatone wasassigned as case agent and Klmalis was assigned to his investigative team. About this same time

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Pete's brother Mike (also described by Interim ChiefTolbert as a strong investigator and leader)was assigned as cass agent in a totally separate narcotics trafficking case on an organizationincluding Joshua Varner. Khaalis assisted Mike with the Vamer case as his primary dutiesassociated with the Williams case allowed.Khaalis Comes Under Susnicion- The James Williams Case

r Shortly after the June, 2008 stop and anest of T-2 both Pete and Mike Delatorre began todebrief T-2 at his place of incarceration, Coastal State Conectional Institute (Coastal),They wer-e able to determine tlu'ough inteliews and photo spreads that the individual towhom T-2 referred was James Williams, a Correctional Officer at Coastal. Once theidentification of the subject was established in late 2008, Lt. Russ Smith, CNT,authorized the opening ofa case to be assigned to Pete Delatone.. During an early interview of T-2 at Coastal, Pete Delatorre was accompanied by Khaalis,Khaali.s rccalled T-2 saying that James Williams had claimed to have a police officer,who was his brother, in his pocket . At the time Khaalis assumed T-2 to be refening toWillet Williams, a Star Corporal on the SCMPD.. Not long after the opening of the Williams case, Pete Delatorue conducted a briefing forthe major case team. Delatore made clear in the briefing that James Williams had abrother, Willet, who was an SCMPD officer and a subject of the case. He specificallyasked if any member of the team knew Willet.. Khaalis never made it known that hc had a relationship with Willet Williams.o On Aptil 16,2009 Lt. Snith concluded that not much had been happening on theWilliams case and he rnade a last minute decision to order a surveillance of JamesWilliams for that aftemoon, to begin at James' place of employment, Coastal. Khaalis,Mike Delatone and others were on the surveillance team.r While waiting for Williams to depafi Coastal, Khaalis suggested to Delatore that he(Khaalis) contact Willet Williams to determine the location of the subject, who had notappeared at the expected time. This suggestion was rejected.o James Williams finally departed Coastal at approximately 1730 and returned to his home.At approximately 1825 he exited his house and began to show alerted behavior', walkingwith a cell phone to his ear and acting as though he was looking for something.e At this point the CNT team became convinced that their surveillanse had beencompromised, but they could not figute out how.. On April 1'l,2009, the day after the compromised surveillance, Pete Delato$e wasapproached by Khaalis who wanted to know iftelephone toll records would be requested

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for Willet Williams' phone. He was told that Lt. Smith had made a decision to not do soin view of Williams' status as an active duty police officer,DEA, however, unbeknownst to Khaalis, had requested Willet Williams' toll records.Review of the actual records reveals that when the requested toll records for WilletWilliams were examined in May, 2009 they showed seven contacts between Williamsand Khaalis between 1708 and 1713 on April 16,2009. This was precisely the time thatthe CNT surveillance team was outside Coastal waiting for James Williams to make anappeamnce.A review of the actual toll records also shows three contacts between Willett Williamsand James Williams between 1825 and 1826 on April 16,2009. This was precisely thetime that James Williams was observed exiting his residence with a phone to his car andappearing to seatch for something.Once the contacls between Khaalis and Willet Williarns were brought to th attention ofCNT Director Roy Harris, Khaalis was considered a suspect in leaking information.Director Harris decided to move the Williams case to the DEA offrce. unbeknownst toKhaalis or even Lt. Smith. DEA assisted in getting the word out that the Williams casehad died out and that Pete Delatore was assisting DEA dn other matters, Pete continuedto surreptitiously work the case fion the DEA office. He retumed to CNT in early July,2009 specifically for the putpose ofkeeping an eye on Khaalis, who was now working onother cases. Khaalis often sought to obtain frorn Pete updates and information about theWilliams case, but was told that it had died down. In August Pete once again retumed tothe DEA office in order to work on the Williams case without Khaalis' knowledge.During this period Mike Delatoffe's cases on Josh Vamer and his assooiate, HezekiahMurdock, were heating up and Khaalis had been assigned to assist in those invesligations.Despite having been told that the Williams case was no longer active, Khaalis continuedto seek information about what was going on in that case.When Khaalis was intewiewed on October 28,2013 and allowed to inspect the April 16,2010 Willet Williams toll recotds he admitted that he had been in contact with Williamson that date, but he insisted that the purpose of these contacts was not to warn Willet ofthe James Williams surveillance. He also insisted that the surveillance had not occumedon April 16, 2010 and that records indicating that were in error.

The Joshua Varner WiretapsIn January,2010 CNT attempted to initiate court ordered wiretaps on Joshrra Varner.

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The first atternpt took place on Ja rary 27,2010. During the minimization briefing givenby the lead altorney, a DEA Task Force Agent who was present noted that when Varnerwas mentioned as lhe target of the wiretap, Khaalis became very alert and lookedshocked. Shortly after the briefing Khaalis left the CNT office without authorizalion andnobody knew wherc he had gone, despite the fact that he was assigned to be a monitor inthe wire room until 1700. I{e returned to the wire room at about 1700 andjust then theline became active. The first incoming call intercepted was a warning to Varner to drophis phone , in other words, to discontinue use of that phone. The callet could not beidentified.Two subsequent attempts to intercept new numbers being used by Varner endedimmediately with dropped phones . In each of these attempts Khaalis was assigned tothe monitoring teams.Affel the failurc of the third CNT wiretap a decision was made with the knowledge ofonly Director Hamis, Mike and Pete Delatome and DEA Agent Mike Sarhat that a fourlhattempt would be made, but out of the DEA office. After 4-5 days they had obtainedenough evidence to support an indictment of Varner and then moved the tap back to CNTin an attempt to establish who was warning Varner. Khaalis was working in CNT duringthis period and agitating against DEA, saying that they were withholding infornrationfiom CNT. A mock minimization briefing was held at CNT to make it appear this was anew wiretap. The phone was dropped shortly after the minimization briefing, but noincoming wernings to Vamer were detected and the source of the leak was neverdetermined.

The Hezekiah Murdock Wiretap and the Car StopIn February of20l0 a court ordeted wiretap ofJosh Varner associate Hezekiah Murdock wasinitiated.

Khaalis was assigned as a monitor in the CNT wire room on February 13, 2010 alongwith CNT officers Larry Hanis and Charles Guyer. A call was intercepted indicating thatMurdock would be meeting with a female within the hour. Khaalis immediatelyannounced he was going to leave the wire room, eithel giving as his reason that he wasgoing to get something to eat or that he wanted to effect an identification of theintercepted female, In either case, Klnalis left the wire room without author.ization.Khaalis was soon heard on his police radio requesting that a malked SCMPD patrol unit

stop the female's car for the purposes ofeffecting an identification The car was stopped.

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. Guyer immediately called Khaalis on his cell phone and asked what he was doing andwhether Khaalis had prior permission fi'om the case agent (Mike Delatone) or thesupervisor (Lt. Smith). Khaalis' rcsponse was yes and no .r Lt, Smith soon received a concerned call at home from the patrol officer's sergeantdemanding to know what the probable cause had been for the car stop. This was the firstLt. Srnith knew about this incident. He then received a call from Khaalis, who gave hisrationale for requesting the stop as wanting to be present for a possible drug transactionbetween two subjects. He also told Lt, Smith that he had talked to case agent MikeDelatone.r Mike Delatorre never spoke with Khaalis about this car stop prior to its occurence andnever gave his authorization.

. Lt. Smith called Khaalis into his office and demanded his explanation for leaving thewire room and requesting a car stop. At this time Klaalis admitted leaving the wire roomwilhout consulting with anybody about requesting a car stop. He told Lt. Srnith that hewas just trying to be pro-active . When questioned about why he had told Lt. Smith thatho had talked with case agent Mike Delatore about stopping the car, he said that he didnot know why he had said tlut, that he wasn't really thinking about it,. Before the initiation of any CNT Title III wiretap investigation, to include thisinvestigation, a briefing was given to the participating agents regarding minimization.The briefing also specifically provided that no pro-active enforcement action was to betaken rvithout prior consultation with the case agent or the superaisor,

Khaalis Attempts to Learn Protected Investieative InformationCNT has a rule (fol reasons of security) providing that only the case agent, the assistant cas

agent and others given specific permission arc allowed to gain access to pedlnent informationconcerning targets.

o During the latter part of 2009 Khaalis began a patteln of asking a CNT intelligenceanalyst for infomation about subjects in the Murdock and Varnet cases. In one particularinstance Khaalis tried to obtain information regarding a person of investigative intercst,saying that the iniormation was for' (case agent) Mike Delatorre' When he was deniedaccess to the information, Khaalis attempted to obtain it from two other analysts. Acheck with Mike Delatorle determined that Delatone had given Khaalis no permission toask for the requested information. The analysts wore instructed by Delatolre not to giveKhaalis any information associaled with the Murdock investigation,

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. This matter was brought to the aftention of Lt. Smith, who questioned Khaalis about hisunauthorized attempts to access case sensitive information. Khaalis' r'esponse was that hehad no explanation for trying to learn information about targets of the Murdockinvestigation.

Khaalis Atternpts to Tamper Wilh EvidenceStandard Opemting Procedure (SOP) at CNT regarding cell phones seized lrom arrestedsubjects is that as soon as possible the phones al'e to be placed into the possession of analysts sothat data of intelligence interest can be downloaded, In at least four separate instances Khaalisatternpted to violate SOP,

o During November'2009 a subject named Blacksheal was arested and Khaalis andanother CNT officer responded to the scene. They seized phones and put them into thepossession of Analyst Don Wood. Soon after receiving the phones, Wood received a callfrom Khaalis instlucting him not to download the phones and telling hint to place thephones on his (Khaalis') desk. Wood did place the phones on Khaalis' desk, but notbeforc downloading the data. In January 2010 Officer Eric Broorne, assigned to DEA,requested the phones. Broome discovered that at some point after the phones had beentumed over to Khaalis to place into evidence storage, numbers had been deleted from thecall history.r A lrafficker who regularly traveled between Atlanta and Savannah was atested and hisphone was seized. Immediately after Wood received the phone for downloading, he wasapproached by Khaalis who began asking if Wood was going to be able to determine whohad been calling the subject on the phone. Wood found this to be odd since it was SOP todownload seized phones for that type of intelligence information.r A subject named Haris was arrcsted and two phones were seized. Befor.e Wood couldtake possession of the phones, Khaalis grabbed both of them. Wood stopped Khaalisfrom taking the phones away and took possession,o A second subject aruived at the scene of the Haris arr.est. While this subject was inhandcuffs, Khaalis attempted to take a cell phone out of his pocket. Again, he wasstopped in this attempt.

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Khaalis Responds to Planted InformationIn early March 2010 Khaalis went out of the Savannah area for military training. DEA, FBI andCNT decided to take advantage of the opportunity to place a GPS tracking device on Khaalis'CNT car. The FBI obtained authorization for placement ofthe device and it was installed.

. When Khaalis returned from military training and realized that his CNT car had beenmoved from the maintenance garage whete he had left it to the CNT lot, he became veryupset. Khaalis was observed in the lot doing a detailed search ofthe car as though he waslooking for something in particular.r After this Khaalis reftrsed to drive the car until he was finally instructed by Lt. Smith tostop using the CNT pool cars and rcsume use ofhis issued car.. A joint F'BI, DEA, CNT effort was underlaken to have a cooperating DEA sourcetelephone into CNT with spurious information about a drug related money transaction totake place at a motel near the airyoft. CNT made a angements to ensule the call wouldbe taken by Khaalis on Match 23,2010. Khaalis took the call, but teported it to hissupelvisot'.o A second call was placed by the source to Khaalis on April 2,2010. This time Khaalisdid not reporl the call to his supervisor. Instead, he said he was going home to getsomething to eat. The GPS tracking device showed that instead of going home, heactually proceeded to the site near the airport where the source had told him a moneytransaction would take Place,

Khaalis as Walk About JonesDuling the peliod of the Varner and Murdock wiretaps, Khaalis developed a reputation fordisappearing fiom the CNT office for extended peliods of time with nobody being aware of hiswhereabouts. One example involved his disappearanoe shortly after the minimization briefing onthe Josh Varner tap, even though he was scheduled to be on duty as a monitor in the wire room.Nobody knew where he had gone, but as soon as he returned the phone was dropped. A secondexample was his unauthorized deparlure from the wire room during the Murdock wiretap whenhe requested a car stop. By this poiltt his reputation for jumping out' of the wire room hadbecome so pronounced that he was given the nickname by CNT Offrcer Charles Guyer of WalkAbout Jones . (It is to be noted that Lt. Russ Smith was aware of Khaalis' behavior, wasbecoming increasingly frustrated and was complaining to CNT Director Hanis. But Srnith hadbeen deliberately kept in the dark about the investigation of Khaalis by Harris, who instructedSmith to ignore the unacceptable behavior. It was not until after the February 13, 2010 car stopincident and Smith's insistence that Khaalis be removed from CNT that he was briefed,)

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Khaalis Shows Deceotion on FBI PolygraphOn June 9, 2010 Khaalis voluntarily took a polygraph exam administered by an FBI polygrapher.A review ofthe results follows:

r Question 1- Did you wan Willet Wiltiams that his brother was under investigation byCNT?Answer - NoResult - Deception Indicatedo Question 2- Have you ever used your official position to protect anyone involved in thetra{Iicking of illegal dtugs?Answer- NoResult- Deception Indicated

B. Concerning Star Corporal Willet WilliamsStar Corpora[ Wiltet Williams is a 27 year vetemn of the SCMPD. His known involvement in thematters culrntly under investigation is mostly rclated to his association with the activities of hisbrother, James Williams, the subject of a joint CNT-DEA drug trafftcking investigation. Theinvestigation of James Williams had its genesis with the development by CNT of an informant,refened to hereinafter as T-2, in June, 2008. (lt is noted that T-2 is a source of undeterminedreliability, but who furnished much reliable and coroborated information to Officers Pete andMike Delatone.) T-2 told of twice traveling in the company of a known trafftcker identified asPercy Anderson, aka Piggy , to a Savannah residence later identified as that ofJames Williamswhere drug purchases occuned. On both occasions after the drug lransaction was completed,they were escorted away from the residence by a marked police unit driven by a uniformedpolice officer.Willet Williams Tentatively Identified

r In February, 2009 T-2, who at that time was incarcerated at the Chatham County Jail, toldofan incident that occurred on or about January 19,2009 when both he and Piggy hadbeen incarcerated in Coastal State Coruectional Institute. He explained that this was theday before President Obama's inaugumtion and that he and Piggy had been watching TVnews. The news broadcast was showing Savannah police officers troarding a bus. T-2related that he immediately tecognized one of the officers in a blue warm up as theindividuat who had esco(ed Piggy and him away from the James Williams residenceaft er drug transactions.

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Also in February,2009 T-2 advised that Piggy told hirn at the time that the individual inthe blue watm up was Sgt. Williams, the guy I work for .T-2 then viewed a photo spread and selected with neat certainty the photo of WillettWilliams as the individual he had tecognized on TV as the escort offtcer.

Willet Williams Participates in Conoromise of April | 6. 2009 Surveillance. On April 16, 2009 CNT mounted a surveillance of James Williams from his place of

employment, Coastal, to his tesidence. 'l'he surveillance leader was Mike Delatore andOfficer Malik Khaalis was on the team.. Members of the surveillance team concluded ftom the alerted behavior of JamesWilliams that the surveillance had been comptomised, but they did not know horv.r A review of toll records for Willet Williams phone, which had been obtained by DEA inMay,2009, revealed that in the minutes leading up to James Williams' departure flomCoastal there wete seven contacts between Willet Williams and Khaalis'o The toll records fuither revealed three contacts between Willet Williams and his brotherJames Williams precisely at the tilne that James Williams was demonsttating aletedbehavior outside his rcsidence.. Subsequent to exhibiting alerted behavior, James Williams departed his residence, takingall but one of survcillance team with him. A short while later a white vehicle, believed bythe lone remaining surveillant to belong to Willet Williams, pulled into the residencegarage and the door was closed. Although the sulveillant was not able to effect a positiyeidentification of the driver of this vehicle, he believed it to be Willet Witliams.

Willet Williams Comes to the Assistance of Jamesr In mid 2008 Piggy Anderson and James Williams were driving in Williams' car and wete

pulled over by SCMPD Officer Kendall Brown. Anderson was found to be in possessionof drugs hidden on his person, but no other drugs were found in the cat After teceiving acall from James, Willet responded to the scene. Piggy Anderson was arrcsted, charged,and eventually sentenced to 22 months in prison. James Williams was cited for a seatbeltviolation and released.o During his interview on October 23, 2013 Williams said that he did respond to the scene,but only because he wanted to take custody of his brother's car in the event he wasanEstd. He denied trying to use his offrcial position to influence the outcome. The patrol

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offrcer, Kendall Blown, was interviewed and could not recall the car stop in question. Healso could not recall Willet Williams trying to intercede on behalf of his brother James.

Willet Williams. LandlordUnrelated to Willet Williams' possible involvement in improper activities associated with hisbrother, James, he was also the subject ofa financial fiaud investigation in 2008.

o In 2008 Williams was the owner of several "Section 8" housing prcperties. Section 8 ofthe Housing Act of 1937 provides for the payment of rent subsidies to landlords who rentto qualifying low inconrc renters.

o Williams and a Section 8 qualified renter sent the necessary paperwork to the Departmentof Housing and Urban Developrnent (HUD). In short order, monthly subsidy checksbegan to be deposited in Williams' bank account.. At some point, after Williarns had leceived about $5,000 in payments, an inspection bythe Savannah Housing Authority (SHA), which administers the Section 8 pr.ograrn forHUD, discovered that the qualified renter had never moved in and instead an individualpaying full rent was residing at the property.r 'l-he United States Attorney considered federal prosecution, but eventually declinedprosecution when Williarns made full restitution. Shortly thereafter the SCMPD fraudcase was refen'ed to Internal Affairs, The case officer, Bobby Chandler, was told bySCMPD Chief Berkow and his Assistant. Willie Lovett, that the criminal case was to beclosed because Williams had paid back the money.e About two weeks after Chandler had been told to close the Williams case. he was notifiedthat he was tmnsfered to the Patrol Division and that he should report immediately, noteven taking time to resolve pending cases.r Earlinc Davis, Executive Dircctor of SHA, was confionted by Willet Williams shortlyafter hel notihcation by letter that he had fraudulently received federal subsidy moneyand would have to make restitution. Williams belligerently complained about beingaccused of fraud and shouted that he would see her in court. Davis was very upset byWilliams' behavior and made a complaint to Chief Berkow.r Davis later questioned Chief Berkow about why Williams had not been fired. Berkowreplied that since Williams had paid lhe money back, he had only been reprimanded forhis treatment of her. Review of disciplinary records contained in the IA Report reveals

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that Williams was reprimanded for conduct unbecoming an officer in 2007, but nodisciplinary actions are noted for 2008.. When interviewed on Octobel'23, 2013 Willet Williams stated that he had not realized hehad received the improper rent subsidy payments because they were deposited in anaccount handled by his wife. He denied inappropriate behavior with Ms. Davis, sayingthat she falsely accused him oft(ying to intimidate her.

C. Concernins Internal AffairsOne of the chief tasks set out for MDBI in the letter of engagement was to determine if there hadbeen interfercncc in the IA investigation, The short answcr is that no evidence of inlerferencewas fourd. The problem is this turned out to be a somewhat irrelevant issue. As the MDBIinquiry went forward it became increasingly clear that there was no IA investigation in thecommonly undelstood sense of the word. If that itself lesulted from interference, none wasdiscovercd. IA first learned of the Khaalis and Willet Williams matter on June 3, 2010 when IAemployees Major Dean Fagersh'om, Lt. Andre Oliver and Sgt. Tim Thompson were instructed byChief Lovett to report to the Savannah FBI office where they received a briefing by FBI andCNT personnel. The IA case was closed on November 16, 2010. During this five and a halfmonth period IA interviewed Khaalis and Williams, took one written statement from Lt. RussSmith, wer'e briefed once at the IA office by CNT Officers Mike Delatone and Eric Broome, mettwice with FBI A.gents Lary Greene and Josh Hayes and briefed Chief Willie Lovett twice.More detailed information regarding this "investigation" follows.The June 3. 2010 Meetine

. By the end of May, 20t 0 CNT and the FBI had decided to bring the cases against JamesWilliams and Varner as well as those on Willet Williams and Khaalis to a close andinvited menrbers of SCMPD to the FBI office for a June 3,2010 meeting. At this meetingthe FBI provided a detailed oral briefing about the investigations CNT and the FBI hadbeen conducting conceming Khaalis and Willet Williams.. Fagelstrom, Oliver and Thompson professed to be puzzled as to why IA was beingblruglrt into this matter sincc IA doss not normally get involved until a cr.iminalinvestigation has been concluded. It appeared to them that a criminal investigation wasstill underway.

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The Interyiew of Khaaliso At the conclusion ofthe June 3, 2010 meeting at the FBI oflice, FBI Agent Josh Hayes,

who had plovided nost of the briefing, departed fot' the CN I office for the purpose ofinterviewing Khaalis. Hayes suggested that IA also conduct an interview of Khaalis. Atthe instruction of Major Fagerstrom, Oliver and Thompson went to the CNT oflice,watched Hayes inteliew Khaalis fircm a control room and thcn conductcd a recorded IAintewiew of Khaalis.o Thompson and Oliver were resentful at being placed in such a position. They felt theyhad been given no time to pepare and had no idea whether Khaalis' responses weretruthful or not. They believed they were .just being used by the FBI and CNT to try toextmct a confession fiom Khaalis.o IA never interviewed Khaalis again, even after they had had time to prparc,

The Interview of Willet Williams. Again at the inshuction of Fagershom, Oliver and Thompson proceeded from the CNT

office to the IA office for the purpose of interviewing Willet Williams. Thompson andOliver again believed they had been given no time to prepare and the interview was"minimal", lasting, an estimated 20 minutes.o IA never interviewed Williams again, even after they had had time to prepare.

The Second CNT Bliefing of IA. About two weeks after the FBI briefing, or in about mid-June,2010, Pete Delatone and

Eric Broome went to the IA office to give Oliver and Thompson a more detailed briefing.They lealned that Major Fagerstrom had been ttansfened from IA and replaced byCaptain Hank Wiley. Delatorre viewed this as a bad development because Wiley waswidely viewed as being very close to Chief Willie Lovett and Delatorre feared the IAcase would not be pursued.o At lhis second meeting Delaton and Brcome turned over to IA everything that CNT hadup until that point prepared on Khaalis and Willet Williams.e During the course of the briefing Oliver and Thompson made dispalaging remarks suchas "you guys don't have anything" and "you'rc making this stuffup".

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IA Discounts Toll Record Informationo Thompson and Oliver had understood from the June 3, 2010 briefing by the FBI that toll

records on Willet Williams'phone showed that Khaalis had been in contact with WilletWilliams during the April 16, 2009 surveiUance of James Williams and that Willet hadthen been in contact with James. When Thompson had a ohance to analyze the actual tollrecords, he concluded there was too much difference in time to indicate the likelihoodthat the calls had led to compromise ofthe surveillance.r According to MDBI's review of the toll records, thele were seven contacts betweenKhaalis and Willett Williams in the minutes leading up to James Williams' deparlurefrom Coastal Conectional Institute (foul calls were initiated by Williams, three byKhaalis). 72 minutes later, after James Williams had an'ived at his residence, therc werelhree contacts between Willet and James at precisely the time that James exited hisrcsidence and appeared to be looking for surveillance (one call was initiated by Jamesand two by Willet).. MDBI has difficulty understanding how lA could have concluded that these contacscould not have been associated with compromise ofthe surueillance.

The Second Meeting at the FBIo Sometime in the summel of 2010 (prcbably late June or early July), Capain HankWiley, Thompson and Oliver went to the FBI office for a second briefing by AgentsGreene and Josh Hayes. At this meeting the FBI stated that (hey would never again work

a case in which Khaalis would be a potential witness. Nothing new was discussed at thismeeting, but Agent Hayes either handed over some notes from the FBI's investigation orsaid that he would send notes. A decision had been made to not prosecute Khaalisfederally, so a plosecutive report had not been plepared and was not available.r After this second FBI meeting Thompson gave Chief Lovett a briefing, to includediscussion of the phone toll records associated with the April 16, 2009 James Williamssutveillance; the details of Khaalis leaving the wire room during the Varner'/Murdockinvestigation; and the fact that Khaalis had failed an FBI polygraph exam. Regarding thelast, ChiefLovett commented he did not believe in polygraph exams.

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FBI Interview Reporlso On July 27,2010 the FBI hand-delivered to the IA office summaries of interviews ofMike Delatorre, Charles Cuyer and Lany Hanis concerning the February 13, 2010

incident where Khaalis had initiated an unauthorized car stop.o After rcviewing the FBI interview summaries, Captain Wiley bliefed Chief Lovett onJuly 27,2010. This appears to have been the last briefing IA gave to Lovett on theKhaalis/Wil Iiams matter'.

Khaalis Returns to Active Duty. After the July 27, 2010 briefing, Chief Lovett instructed Wiley to take Khaalis off

Administrative Leave and return him to active duty. A review of conespondence in theIA Repot, disclosed that Khaalis was taken off Administrative Leave on August 13,2010 and assigned to a Patrol Division precinct effective August 16, 2010.

CNT Director Roy Harris' Memoranduno After learning of Khaalis'retum to duty, CNT Director Hanis, the U.S. Attorney and theFBI met with Chief Lovett in his office on September 10, 2010 and gave him a detailedbriefing regarding the FBI/CNT investigations of Khaalis and Williams.. A review of records confirms that on September 24,2010 CNT Director Hanis sent amemorandum and supplemental rcport to the Chatham County Manager. This memo and

report contained considerable investigative detail regarding the activities of Khaalis andWillet Williams that had previously been provided orally to IA in two briefings and toChief Lovett on September 10,2010.r On October 5, 2010 Director Hanis' memo and report were hand delivered to ChiefLovett by Chatham County Attorney Jonathan Hart.

CNT Officels Transfenedo In early October, 2010 the Delatorre brothers and Eric Broome received unofficial word

that they were to be lmnsfened out of CNT.r According to documentation provided by Interirn Chief Tolbert, on Octobor 29,2010Mike Delatone, Pete Delatore and Eric Broome were transferred by "special order" ofChief Lovett from CNT lo Patrol Division Drecincts.

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while there is a policy providing for rotation of cNT officers back to scMPD after fiveyears, it had infrequently been adhered to because many believed it made no sense fronan efficiency standpoint. cNT management pet'sonnel did not agree with the transfels ofthe Delatones and Broome and could not understand them'It is quite unusual for the Chiefto issue special ordets for ttansfers to precincts and thetransfers of the Delatones and Broome were viewed by some as possible retaliation.

Case Closedo on November 16, 2010 captain Hank wiley prepared a Letter of Transmittal (LoT)

covering the completed IA Report and recommending the cases against willet williamsand Malik Khaalis be closed and that the allegations against them be found Unsustained'The LOT rvas initialed by both Wiley and Lovett'

The Wiley LOT a Problem. lt is not normal procedure for IA to prepare a LOT. The SOP is for IA to send their

completed Report to the subject's conmander. That individual then has the responsibilityfor preparing a LoT and making recommendations for any disciplinary action. The LoTand Report arc then sent up lhe chain of command for final action. That procedure wasobviously not followed on this case. The IA position is that wiley prepared the LoTbecause CNT would not do theirjob.o captain Paul McBurney, who, as senior scMPD officer at cNT, should have receivedthe completed IA reporl and prepated the LoT. McBurney iryas never contacted at all byIA and never received the IA Report for review'. cNT personnel rccounted a case of a female scMPD officer who had lied aboutattendance at a training session and was fircd upon the recommendation of Willie Lovett'who at the time was Assistant chief. cNT personnel were outraged by the outcome of theKhaalis case and believed the allegations against Khaalis to be much mote serious andsustained than the earlier case where the female offrcer was fir'ed'

CNT and FBI Allegatiotrs Discounted. In his LoT, wiley stated flatly that th allegations made by cNT and the FBI failed toprove any SCMPD policy violations.

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In the first place, MDBI notes that this is decidedly odd. Instant repoft documentsnumerous activities on the pafi of Khaalis that could reasonably be considered to be inviolalion of policies concerning AWOL, lying, insubordination, violating Title IIIprotocols, etc. In the case of Willet Williams there certainly is evidence of possibleinvolvement in illegal drug transactions.In the second place, MDBI observes that IA may be using an unusual standard of proof.They appear to be saying that because the allegations were not proven beyond areasonable doubt, they were not sustained. But in most civil cases, administrative casesand Grand Jury cases, the standard employed is Preponderance of the Evidence. Underthis standard, the burden of proof is satisfied if it is concluded that there is a better thaneven (51%) chance that the allegations ale tlue.'fhis is the standard used by the FBI'sOflfice of Professional Responsibility and likely by rnost police departments in handlingnon-criminal misconduct cases.

The LOT Made U43$ tful89E9tstE A4o The LOT unequivocally states that the City Attorney's Offrce was asked to review the

information given to the Office of Professional Standards (lA) and concluded there wasno evidence of illegal activity by Agent Khaalis.o James Blaokburn, who in 2010 was City Attorney and Peter Giusti, who was hisAssistant, denied their office never received such a re


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On June 3,2010, when informed that the FBI and CNT were to present a briefing onpossibly criminal misconduct by Khaalis and Williams, he dispatched Captain DeanFagerctrom and two other officers assigned to IA to the FBI offrce to attend.Subsequent to the FBI presentation he received a briefing by IA conceming theallegations against Khaalis and Williams, chiefly concerning an April 16, 2009suryeillancc during which Khaalis and Williams were detemined to be in telephoniccontact, resulting, in the opinion ofthe FBI and CNT, in compromise ofthe surveillancc.Lovett was also briefed by IA concerning a written statenent prepared by CNT LT. RussSmith detailing the unauthorized departure of Khaalis fiom the CNT wire toom, hisinitiation of a traffic stop of a subject and his subsequent lie to Smith to the cffect hc haddiscussed these actions with the case officer.He was briefed by IA again in July, 2010 after a secon


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to state that the evidence presented by CNT and the FBI proved no violations of policyand that the documenls received had been reviewed by the City Attorney's Office, whocould find no evidence ofillegal activity by Khaalis.o There is no record of the City Attorney's Office conducting any such review; the CityAttorney (at that time) and his Assistant (at that time) deny being consulted in this matter;the County Attorney only recalls meeting with Lovett for the purpose of delivering theHarris memorandum and does not recall giving legal opinions regarding illegal activityby Khaalis.o On November 16, 2010 Lovett initiated the LOT, finding that all allegations of violationsby Khaalis and Williams were unsustained.. Lovett stated that the handling of this LOT was irrcgular and that SOP was that CaptainPaul McBurney at CNT should have prepared the LOT. It was his belief, however, thatMcBurney would not have done anything with the information in the lA Report.o Duting his MDBI interview, Lovett stated that he based his decision to exonerate Khaalison a "one page report" he had been given. This rcport was dctermined by MDBI to be aone page surveillance log concerning the April 16,2009 surveillance of James Williams,with an attached document showing details of telephone contacts between Khaalis andWillet Williams and Willet Williams and James Williams.. While Khaalis was on Administrative Leave, Lovett allowed him to take the exam forSergeant and at some subsequent point promoted him to that rank.During the course of the MDBI inquiry, represenlations relating to Chief Lovett, but extmneousto the Khaalis/Williams matter werc brought to the attention of the investigators. Examplesfollow:

r Major Geraldine Long was forced into retircment by Lovett because of a disagreementinvolving wearing of "mouming bars" at a funeral. Lovett explained that he had orderedthat the mourning bars not be worn because the deceased had not died in the line ofduty.He received word that Long had countermanded his ordel, resulting in him (Lovett)instructing that an IA investigation be opened,

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E. Concernine Cleveland LovettInformation was received that a former SCMPD Ofhcer., Kendall Brown, effected adrug-related arrest of an individual dctennined to be the step son of Cleveland Lovett,nephew of Chief Willie Lovett. At the time Cleveland Lovett was a Sergeant in SCMPDIA. The information indicated that subsequent to this anst Lovett initiated a campaignwherein he opened numerous spurious IA investigations of Brorvn, culminating inBrown lesigning from SCMPD.It was delermined that only one IA investigation of Brown took place subsequent to theNovember, 2005 arrest and that the case occasioning Brown's departure from SCMPDwas a complaint of use of excessive force. The validity of the complaint wasconnborated by others.Furthe6 no evidence was discovered indicating that Lovett attempted to influence eventsat the scene of his step son's atrest or that he engaged in any form of retaliation againstBrown.

III. Conclusions and ObservationsLaw enforcement is a difficult and often dangercus profession. Unit cohesion is essential to theaccomplishment ofthe mission and the underpinning ofsuch cohesion is an irnplicit trust in theintegdty ofone's colleagues. Police officers assigned to elite elements such as CNT draw muchof their strength and confidence from their association with individuals working toward acommon goal. Once a member of the team bcgins to display bizaue behavior and take actionsthat lead him to be suspected ofconsorting with the opposition he becomes a distraction and overtirne this inevitably rrsults in a diminution of the essential bond of trust. This undeniablyoccuned at CNT when it was discovered that Khaalis had contacted Willet Williams during asurveillance and then Willet contacted the talget of the surveillance, effectively compromisingthe operation.As MDBI investigators reviewed documentation and caffied out interviews several thingsbecame apparent. The first thing is that duling the peliod under review CNT was staffed by someexhaordinarily talented and industrious officers. Of particular note, Intelim Chief Tolbertpointed out that the Delatone brothers and Eric Broome were viewed as strcng investigators andit is obvious that they were slrong leaders. The second thing that became clear. was thatinexplicable things began to hinder important investigations and because Khaalis and, to asomewhat lessel degree, Willet Williams became prime leak suspects, CNT and DEA wereforced to expend what should have been an unnecessary amount of effort on non-mission relatedactivities, For example, time and effort were spent moving cases from CNT to DEA and thenback in an attempt to protect investigative information and unearth the leaker; time was spent

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placing and nronitoring a GPS device on Khaalis' car; Khaalis' activities within CNT wereregularly monitored; and, for reasons of opelational security, key management officials such asLt. Russ Smith and Captain Paul McBumey were kept in the dark. This last item caused manydifficult situations, such as an increasingly frustrated Lt. Smith being told by Director Hanis totake no action regarding unacceptable behavior by Khaalis and Lt. Smith becoming upset withPete Delatorre when he, with the approval of Dirrctor Haruis, made it appear that the JamesWilliams case was not being pursued.During interviews of IA perconnel it was often said that CNT should have taken care of its owndisciplinary problems at the time they manifested themselves. But the organizational structureinter{'ered with that. CNT operates in a task force environment and during the time under leviewwas working cases jointly with DEA. Becausc Khaalis and Willet Williams were suspected ofactivities that could have been criminal in nature, decisions were taken to delay administrativeaction so as not to complomise the ct'iminal investigation. If Directol Hanis had had theauthority to telminate Khaalis, he may have done so. But he had no such authority under theCNT cbarter'. Eventually, when it was determined thele would be no criminal prosecutions, theKhaalis and Williams matters werc turned over to SCMPD IA., who gave evidence of beingresentful from the beginning.Because integrity is the glue that holds highly cohesive organizations such as police departmentstogether, law enforcement agencies have traditionally recognized the extreme importance ofhaving internal affairs elements which are recognized as being impartial, unrelenting, but fair. ltis essential that IA investigations be seen as thorough, open minded and timely. None of thatseems to have occurred here, As has been noted earlier, the investigation was pending for morethan five monlhs; practically no work at all is evident from the record after day number two;conrpelling evidence was disparaged and dismissed; no information was independentlydeveloped by IA; Khaalis was brought back frorn Administlative Leave by Chief Lovett threemonths beforc the IA report was finalized; the Letter of Transmittal covering the final report wasprepared by IA itself, an abermtion fi'om normal procedure; Khaalis' superior SCMPD officer atCNT was never contaoted by IA and never given an opportunity to review the report or preparcrecommendations; the LOT falsely stated that the information that formed the basis for the repolthad been rcviewed by the City Attorney's Office; Khaalis and Williams were exonerated due to afailure of the allegations by the FBI and CN'l'to prove any violations ofpolicy; and, finally, thetlu'ee officers who had been the backbone of the James Williams and Josh Varner cases and whohad participated in the investigation of Khaalis were transferred out of CNT by what has beencharacterized as an unusual special order of Chief Loveft. One of these officers is still withSCMPD. One has taken law enforcement employment elsewhere, One has taken his own life.Khaalis has been promoted to Sergeant and Wiltet Williams remains a Star Corporal.Finally, whether because ofpersonal animosity with the CNT Director, failure to understand theseriousness of the issues involved, reluctance to take decisive action or any number of other

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possible reasons, Chief Willie Lovett failed in this matter to provide the strong and moralleadership demanded by his rank and position.IV. FindinssIn inquiries such as this, bringing absolute clarity to the issues at hand is rarely achievable.Individual recollections ofevents often differ; and this may be due to personal agendas,perceptions ofselfinterest, or simply faulty memories. Similarly, cefiain actions can beundisputed, but it may be impossible to impute with cerlainty the motives behind such actions.And records may establish beyond any doubt that two parties were in telephonic contact, whilethe substance ofany convcrsation can ncver be known.All this is by way of saying that MDBI has not been able to arrive at any significant findings thatmeet the criminal ("beyond a reasonable doubt") standard. But by employing what MDBIconsiders to be the more appropriate "preponderance oflhe evidence" standard (a reasonableperson determines there is a better than even chance that a proposition is true), numerousrelevant findings become possible. Key among these is as follows:

I . As early as 2008 Khaalis was aware that an informant had provided information thatJames Williams claimed to have a brother who was a police oflicer and who was "in hispocket". Khaalis, by his own admission, knew that this police oflicer was WilletWilliams.2. At this point Khaalis knew and had contact with Willett Williams, but never mademention of this fact to his CNT colleagues or superuisors.

3. Once a criminal case was opened on James and Willet Williams by CNT, the case offrcerspecifically asked the investigative team, to include Khaalis, ifanyone knew Willet. Evenat this point Khaalis declined to reveal his association with Willet Williams.4. During an April 16,2009 surveillance of James Williams, Khaalis suggested a contactwith Willet, but was told by the case offrcer not to establish such contact.5. Despite these instructions, Khaalis had seven telephonic contacts with Willet Williamsduring the suweillance of James Williams.6. Khaalis never told anyone of his contacts with Willet Williams on this occasion, but latermade attempts to ascefiain if Willet's toll records would be subpoenaed.7. Khaalis deceitfully withheld critical information from his CNT superiors andcolleagues proceeded against the instructions ofthe case officer and/or surveillanceleader and probably provided crse-related informstion to a subject of theinvestigation.

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8. When the toll records of Willet Williams were examined it was determined that notonly did he have repeoted contact with Khaalis during the April 16 surveillance, hesubsequently had three telephonic contacts rvith his brother, James, at precisely thetime that James was exhibiting alerted behavior, MDBI believes it likely that Jameswas given surveillance-related information by Willet during these contacts.9. On January 27, 2010 Khaalis atlended a minimization briefing at CNT conceming theinitiation of a wiretap on Josh Varner. Immediately after the briefing Khaalis disappearedfrom the "wire room", even though he wBs assigned to the monitoring shift. The lirstintercepted incoming call wamed Vamer to discontinue use of his phone.

10. Two subsequent attempts to wiretap Vamer failed in a similar fashion. Khaalis was amember of the monitoring team on these occasions.

I l. A fourth wiretap was run out of the DEA offrce without Khaalis' knowledge and this timesufficient information was obtained to secure an indictment,12. When the fourth wiretap was moved back to the CNT wire room with Khaalis as a

monitor, Varner prornptly discontinued use of his phone.13. It is considered likely that Khaalis either personally or through a third party

warned Varncr that his phone rvas being tapped,14. On February 13,2010 Khaalis was assigned as a monitor in the wiretap of Hezekiah

Murdock when a call was intercepted arranging for a meeting between Murdock and afemale. Khaalis left the wire room wilhout permission and caused traffic stop of thefemale, thus jeopardizing the investigation,

15. When questioned by his supervisor, Khaalis said that he had discussed the traffic stopwith the case officer. The case officer later denied he had been contacted by Klraalis priorto the stop. Khaalis subsequently admitted to his supervisor he had not spoken with drecase officer and had no explanation for saying he had.

16. Khaalis lied to his supervisor, left his place of assignment without requiredpermission, violated standard opernting procedpre by taking pro-activeenforcement activity rvithout the required permission of his supervisor and/or thecase officer, and put a sensitive investigalion at risk

17. f)n numerous occasions Khaalis attempted to access information concerning subjects ofactive investigations to which he had no right under standard CNT policies.

18. On numerous occasions Khaalis violated or attempted to violate standard CNTprocedures concerning the handling ofcell phones seized during the coume ofanests,19. On April 2, 2010 Khaalis received a scripted telephone call from a cooperating DEA

source regarding an impending dlug-related money transaction. He lied to colleagues,

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saying he was going hone to eat and then drove to the scene ofthe supposed transactionwith no notification to his supervisor.20.OnJuneg,2010KhaatisshoweddeceptiononanFBlpolygraphexaminationontheissues of whether he hsd rvarned willet williams that his brother, James, was underCNTinvestigationandwhetherhelra


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31. IA was apparently never given a detailed memorandum and report prepaled by CNTDirector Roy Han'is concerning the questionable aclivities of Khaalis and Williams. (Saidreport having been hand-delivered to Chief Lovett.)

32. IA acted totally at variance with established SCMPD policy and plocedurc by prepaling aLetter of Transmittal recomrnending closure of the IA case with a finding ofunsustainedallegations against Khaalis and Williams,

33. The LOT made the inexplicable statement thal the information provided by the FBI andCNT proved no violations of SCMPD policy as well as the false statement that theinformation obtained had been reviewcd by the City Attorney's Office which made afinding of no illegal activity.

34. While no evidence of improper influence on IA was diseovered, their handling ofthis entire matter was negligent and unprofessional.35, On the few occasions that ChiefLoveft was briefed by IA he was assured that theevidence against Klmalis and Williams was thin and inconclusive and that the FBI andCNT refused to provide docuntentation of their allegations.

36. Shorlly after his last briefing by lA on July 27,2010, Chief Lovett ordered that Khaalisbe retumed to active duty.

37- In earty September,20l0 Chief Lovett was given a detailed briefing in his office by theCNT Director, the US Attomey and the FBI regarding the Khaalis/Williams matter.

38. In early'October,20l0 Chief Lovett was personally handed a detailed report prepared bythe CNT Director regarding the Khaalis/Williams investigation.

39, ChiefLovett never forwarded this report to IA for their review and consideration.40, In November Chief Lovett, in opposition to SOP, instructed IA Captain Hank Wiley toprcpare a LOT recommending exoneration of Khaalis and Williams, falsely saying thatthe rnaterial leceived frnm the FBI and CNT had been reviewed by the City Attorney'sOffice and that thele was no evidence ofpolicy violations.

41. Chief Lovett's performance in the Khaalis/Williams matter, rvhether by design ornegligence, rvas inadequate and unprofessional. Despite the fact that he was givenample information both orally and in wriling to make a reasoned disciplinarydecision regnrding these two men, he chose to consider only a single pagesurveillance log, He also withheld vital information from IA; truncated the standardprocedure for handling IA reports; and instructed IA to prepare a LOT rvithpatently false rnd incorrect informalion.

42. No evidence was found of improper sctivity by Cleveland Lovett in the matter of hisnephew's arrest by Of{icer Kendall Brown nor was evidence found of retaliationagainst Brorvn by Lovett

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1- The Acting Chief of Police rcview the content of this teport, as well as the original InternalAffairs repofi, and determine if administrative action is warranted as it rclates to departmentalpolioies.2- Additional investigative efforts are directed to resolve related spin-off issues pertaining tomisconduct.3- A full audit and evaluation of Internal Affairs in the SCMPD be conducted, utilizing anaccredited police consultant to ascertain "best practices" and recommendations for restructuringthis critica[ component ofthe depafiment in order to restore both intemal and public confidence.

v.

1. SCMPD Internal Affairs Report covered by November 16' 2010Letter of Transmittal2. September 24,,2010 Memorandum and Supplemental Report of CNTDirector Roy Harris

Undated CNT Supplemental ReportMay 7, 2013 Memorandum of District Attorney Meg Heap

3.4.

29

VI. AppendixA. Documents Incorporated bY Reference (see attached)

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I. ContentsI. Introduction..................... ............3A. Scope of the Engagement................... .............. 3B. Background..................... .........3C. Methodo1ogy................... ......... 5II. Summary of Investigation.............,,...... .............. 5

IlL Conclusions and Observations.................... ...........................23V. Recommendations........,..,..,. ............,,.,,.........29VI. Appendix .........29A. Documents Incorporated by Reference (see attached) ...........29l. SCMPD Internal Affairs Report covered by Novembel 16, 2010 Letter of

Transmittal .... ...........,,,,,,,,,,.......292. September 24, 2010 Memorandum and Supplemental Report of CNTDirector Roy Harris ...,,,,...........293. Undated CNT Supplemental Report.... .......294. May 7, 2013 Memorandum of Distlict Attorney Meg Heap,.... .,..... ... ...29

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SCMPD INTERNAL AF'FAIRS REPORTCOVERED BY NOVEMBER 16,20rcLETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

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ffiilA+'M.M'PtrLItrEMi' - glHjaiilrr=lf rr:tatN-Offi ce of hofqnional $tmdards

CA,SENUMBER21()O6()5

Wlllle Lovett, CHIEF OF POLICE

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rbbleofcpntents "m.W,$,$tiltl - t;

m@nOfficial Documents

Additional lnformation

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ffi#A+'ffi#PtrLItrElEr-{'u -ffH$ltFflt}lm0ffice of Professional Standards

I. OPSNUMBER: 21006052. COMPLAINTDATET June3,20l03. COMPLAINANTT

A. Inter-Departmenl / CNT4. ORGINALCOMPLAINT:

Agent Khaalis allegedly dlvulging informrtion regarding CNT investigetions.s. OFFICER(S)|NVOLVED ASGN

A. Agent Malik Khaalis CNTYRSOFSERV DUTYSTS

l0yrs Activel8yrs Active. SCpl. Williet Williarns PatloYPct2

6. SOP(s) APPLICABALE TO INVESTIGATION:A, CNT GO# OPS-001 Oath ofOffice, Ethics, and Conduct

I. General Rules of Conducta. PrinciPle 1h. Principle 8

B, cO# ADM-004 Oath of OIIice, Ethics, and ConductI. General Rules ofConducta. Princiole 1

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ADMINISTRATIVE INVESTIGATIONIncldent ReportOPS NUMBER: I 2100605

On June 3, 2010 at 1000hrslLieutenant Oliver and lwent to the FBI Office where F8l Speclal Agent Hayesinformed us that Agent M. Khaalis, SCpl. W. Wllliams, and Agent R. Gerido were involvedin a criminaf matter. frote: fuptatn Fogeqtrom, Captain Mcaunel, Commondet Haffts, Agent

Deloaofie, ond Agent Sroome werc present.) Agent Hayes gave a brief synopsis of a CNTinvestigation that was inltlatcd in 2008 and the investigation had been on going untilJune 2010. CNT had identllled James Wlliams as a subject involved in the distribution oflllegal substances. Special Agent Hayes stated James Williams' brother, SCMPD Spl.Willet Willlams, was participatlng in the illegal activlties by providlng police escorts forhis brother when the illegal substances were being sold. Agent Khaalis and AgentGerido were believed to have divulged investigative Information concerning asurveillance operatlon conducted at James Wllliams' resldence on 04/16/09 to SCpl.Williams. scpl. Williams then relayed the information to James Wllliams. Agents Hayesstated the Toll Records of SCpl. Wllllams' cellular phone showed he made and receivedcalls from Agents Khaalis, Agent Gerido, and James Wllliams. Special Agent Hayes statedthe Toll records indlcated Agent Khaalis had seven (7) telephone conversatlons wlthSCpl. Wllllams while CNT A8ents, IncludinS Agent Khaalis, were conductlng survelllanceof James Williams' residence. Special Agent Hayes explalned the Toll Records ln such amanner that he gave the impresslon that the phone calls between Agent Khaalls, SCpl.Williams, and J. Wllliams were in succession of one another.Special Agent Hayes stated Internal Affairs investigators were requested,because in conjunctlon wlth what the Toll Records Indicate4 CNT agents had observed"unusual behaviors and actions" by Agent Khaalis that raised concerns about AgentKhaalls' conduct as a pollce officer. Those "unusual behavlors and actlons" are asfollowed:

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1. Agent Khalis asked Agent Delatorre, the cas agent, numerous questionsabout the investitation involvlnB J. Williams. One particular questlon askedby A8ent Khaalis was if a ',pen,, was going to be placed on SCpl. Willlams,cell phone.2. When CNT agents who participated in the execution of search warrantswere told not to touch suspects' cell phonet ASent Khaalls was observed byCNT agents pickin8 up suspect's cll phones.3, Agent Khaalis left the "wire tape" room and caltd for a marked police unitto conduct a traffic stop on the subjct heard on the ..wlre,, wlthout priorapprovalfrom CNT lieutenantSmith or the CNT Case Atent.

During the meetlng, the Information was being provided to Lieutenant Oliver andme by word of mouth. Neither the CNT Agents nor FBI Special Agent Hayes provldedany Investigatlve reportt phone records, Investigatlve documentatlon pertalning to acrimlnal Investigatlon lmpllcatlng the officers, or a written statemant outlining theallegations of misconduct against the Officers. Special Agent Hayes was asked whatcriminal charges the Officers were faclng. Special Agent Hayes stated the U.S. DlstrictAttorney's Office advised there was not enough probable cause to charge the Officers atthe tlme. Special Agent Hayes advised he was going to the CNT Office to conduct an"inquirr/' wlth Agent Khaalls and Agent Gerldo. Agent Hayes stated the CNT Agents didnot have to speak with him; however, the CNT Agents could decline to speak wlth him.lfthe CNT Agents declined, Special Agent Hayes stated they would have to speak with us(Lt. Ollver and l). I explained to Special Agent Hayes the Agents' Garrity Rlghts and theirstatements to Internal Affairs could not be used to add or strengthen his (Hayes)crlminal investigation,At 1t00hrs, Special Agent Hayes and another FBI Agent conducted an .,inqulry',with Agent Khaalis at the CNT Offlce. The discussion was not recorded at the request ofSpeclal Agent Hayes, Lieutenant Oliver and I monitored the intervlew from the controlroom. Agent Khaalis voluntarily spoke with the FBI and he was asked questionsregardlng the telephone conversations he had with SCpl. Wllliams on the day of thesurveillance operatlon (UlL6/O9). Agent Khaalis advised he did not recall if he spokewlth Scpl. Williams on that particular day. Special Agent Hayes disclosed the TollRecords to Agent Khaalls, and showed hlm where he (Khaalis) had called SCpl. W,Willlams cell phone. Agent Khaalis told Special Agent Hayes SCpt. Williams would callhim to provide information regardlng nelghborhood drug complalnts. Agent Khaallsstated if he dld speak with SCpl. Williams on O4/t6/O9, it would have been for thatreason. Agent Khaalis stated he did not socialize with SCpl. Willlams outside of work.Agent Khaalls was asked questions pertainlng to the crlmlnal lnvestlgation of JamesWilliams. Agent Khaalis stated he was aware that James Willlams was underinvestigation, and he was SCpl. W. Williams' brother. When Agent Khaalls was askedabout divulglng investlgatlve lnformatlon to SCpl, Wiltiams regarding hls brother, AgentKhaalis vehemently denied divulging any tnformation. When the FBI concluded their"inquh/ with Agent Khaalls, Lleutenant Oliver and t conducted our interview with him.At the start of the intervlew, Agent Khaalis was given his Garrity Warning form. Iexplafned the form to Agent Xhaalls whlch he understood and signed. (Note: The tntetutewwos rccotded wlth oudto ond vtsuot capab ltaes., Agent Khaalis was asked questions pertalnlngto his conduct and his actions as lt related to hls involvement with assistlng Agent

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Delatorre In cfiminal Investigation of James williams. Agent Khaalis stated he did notdivulge any information to SCpl. Williams regarding the criminal Investitatlon of JamesWilliams. Agent Khaalis advised SCpl. Willlams has contacted him via cellular telephonein the past, and those conversations were work related. Agent Khaalls was ques onedabout his telephone conversatlons with SCpl. Williams on the day of the surveillanceoperatloni however, Agent Khaalis could not recall talking with SCpl. Willlams, or whatthe conversations were regarding. When Agent Khaalis was asked about leaving thewire tap room, Agent Khaalis admitted he left the room with the intentions ofidentifying the dllvel. luote: The 2 yeot CNt lnvesttgotion tnwlved muftlple suspec tncludtng Jomeswtlllons.) He stated hls reason for leaving the wire tap room was he was "over eage/'tohelp with tetting the subJect identified. (Noae: Agent Detotore had totd me the d ver hod akeodybeen Menaifled, ond d list ol suspects with ?heir peftlnent informotlon wos posted tn the wlre tdp room.The diver tn question wor on thot list., Agent Khaalls was asked if he followed CNT protocolregarding wire taps. Agent Khaa{is stated he failed to contact the Case Agent or CNTlieutenant Smlth and obtaln authorizatlon prior to stopping the vehicle. ln theinterview, Agent Khaalis mentioned that he left the wire tap room twice on the samenight, and he did not notify Lieutenant Smith or the Case Agent either time. AgentKhaalis stated he knew he was wrong both times for not obtainlng authorization beforehaving the vehicle stopped. I asked him if he (Khaalls) notllied either the Case Agent orLieutenant Smlth about the stop after ldentifying the driver. Agent Khaalis was evaslvewith his answer. He Initially advised Agent Delatorre was aware of him (Khaalls) leavlngthe wire tap room to identiry the driver, but then stated he dld not notify AgentDefatorre about conducting the stop until the next day. (Note: speciol Asent Hoyes stdted theconversotions belng monkored on thot cellolor phone ceosed after Agent Khdolls lnltloted hovlnq aheddver stopped, The wtre top hod been octive lot the post 6 monahs.) After concluding theinterview, captain Fagerstrom was briefed, and per Chlef Lovett, Agent Khaalis wasplaced on Admlnistrative Leave based on the information provided by CNT, and the FBl.When inquiring about conducting an intervlew wlth Agent Geridq Captaln McBurney,Captain Fagerstrom, and Special Agent Hayes stated Agent Gerldo did not need to beinterviewed. Special Agent Hayes stated he had interviewed Agent Gerldo whileLleutenant Otlver and I were interviewing Agent Khaalis, Special Agent Hayes statedAgent Gerido remembered calltng SCpl. Wllliams on O4/L6/O9 and he recalled thecontent of the telephone conversalion. (Note: Agent Gerido dld not potticlpote ln ahe suruelllonceoperct:nn.) Special Agent Hayes stated Agent Gerido's explanation had merit. Beforeleavlng the CNT office, I spoke with Lieutenant Smith (CNT), and I asked hlm for a copyof the Toll Records as well as a written statement trom him oncernlng Agent Khaalis'conduct.Prior to leaving the CNT office, Ileutenant ollver and I were instructed byCaptaln Fagerstrom to conduct an lntervlew with SCpl. W. Williams at the InternalAffalrs Office. At 1615hrs, we conducted an interview wlth SCpl' Wllliams, (Note: Lt. ottverand f had llmtted lnfomotion obout SCpl Wlllloms' invofuement ln the dimlnol lDvestlgotlon, ond whether 'ot not the Fgl wanted us to divulge any tnformotion obout ahe cdminot lnvestigdtion') SCpl. Williamswas given hls Garrlty Warning form prlor to askln8 hlm any questions which he read andsi8ned, 0vofei The lnteNiew wos rccoded Mth audto copobllltles,) During the Intervlew, SCpl.williams stated he could nol remember if he had a conversation wlth Agent Khaalis onApril 15rh. 2009. He stated he has called Agent Khaalls in the past, and he (Wllliams) hasprovided Agent Khaalis with information regarding neiShborhood drug complahts. scpl.witllams was asked about his brother, James Willlams. SCpl. Wllllams stated hls brother

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resided on 40th St, and SCpl, Williams would stop by hls brother's house on occasions.He stated he did not approve of some of his brother,s friends who he (W. Williams)would see at his brothe/s house. SCpl, Williams was asked if he spoke with his brother(James Wllliams) vla cellrrlar phone. SCpl. Williams stated he did speak with his brotherfrequently via cell phone. After Interviewing SCpl. Williams, Captain FaSerstrom wasnotlfied about the interview. SCpl, Willlams and Agent Gerido were not placed onAdmlnistratlve Leave.On June 46, 2010, I met wlth CNT Lieutenant Smith at the CNT Offrce, and tobtained hls wfltten statement, ln his statement, he wrote a meeting was held with theCNT Agentt to lnclude Agent Khaalis, involved In the Title lll wire tap. The A8ents weregiven orders on the "Do's and Don'ts" of the wire tap operatlon. Lieutenant Smithincluded ln hls statement the Incident involving Agent Khaalis leavlng the wire tap roomwithout authorization. Along with his statement, lieutenant Smith provided the TollRecords for o4lt6l09 for SCpl. W. Williams'cell phone, 844-8991, and an investigativereport about the surveillaDce operation, (Note: The report wos wrltten ot the concluslon of thesurt,etltance operatton.) When I reviewed the Toll Record hformation, the records dld notreflect what Special Agent Hayes had inltially presented to Lieutenant Ollver and me.The phone conversation between Agent Khaalis, Agent Gerido, SCpl. Wllllams, andJames Williams were not in succession to one another. I contacted lieutenant Oliver,and I advised him of what the Toll Records reflcted. The phone records indicated thefollowing:

a, Agent Khaalls received 4 phone calls from SCpl' Williams, and AgentKhaalis called scpl. wiltet 3 times. The first call was made at 1706hrs andthe last call ended at 1713hrs. ln Agent Delatorre's report, he wrote J.Williams dld not leave his place of employment until 1730hrs'

b. ASent Gerido recelved 2 phone calls from SCpl. Wlllams, and ABentGerido called scpl. Wllliams 4 times. The calls started at 1715hrs and thelast call was at L742hrs'

c. SCpl. W. Willlams had a total of 3 calls tofrom James Williams. JamesWilliams called once starting at 1825hrs. SCpl. Williams followed up withmaking 2 phone calls to his brother which ended by 1826hrs.

tn Agent Delatorre's report regardlng the surveillance operation, he wrote Jameswilliams was seen at 1825hrs walking outslde of his resldent with his cell phone to hisear. He appeared to be looklng for something or someone.Along with the FBI conducting an "inquir'y''with Agent Khaalis, Special AgentHayes advised Agent Khaalls voluntarlly submltted to a polygraph exam admlnlstered bythe FBI on O6/O9ltO. Special Agent Hayes contacted and provlded me with a copy of theexam results. The resufts indicated Agent Khaalis was decepllve. lNote: spectot Agent Hayeshod qdvlsed me he wos gotng to conduc]. dn'lnqu f wnh Scpl Witlloms os well os osk SCpl. Ml ons tf hewoutd submlt to o polygroph exom. To thls tnv*ti,oto/s knowledge, speclol Agent Hoyes hos notconducted on'lnqulry' wlth scpl. Wluohs.tSince lnternal Affalrs Investigators were provlded with no to little writtendocumentatlon about the crlmlnal investigatlon, a meeting was held at the InternalAffairs Offlce with ABent Delatorre and Agent Broome. ASent Delatorre and Agent

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Eroome explalned the facts of the crimlnal investigation, the Toll Record information,and the alfegations of mlsconduct agalnst Agent Khaalls. (Note: tieutendnt otivet dnd &ptotnwttey were present.) Both Agents stated they believed Agnt Khaalls had divulgedinformation about CNT lnvestigatlons not only to SCpl. Wllllams who relayed theinformation to James Wllliams, but to known criminals as well. Other than thepolygraph result, the Toll Records IndicatinS ASent Khaalis and SCpl. Williams called oneanother on the day of the surveillance operation, and Agent Khaalls admtttlng he did notfollow protocol regarding "wire tapt" CNT Agents and Special A3ent Hayes based theirallegations of misconduct against Agent Khaalis on assumptlons and options, At theconclusion of the meeting, Agent Delatorre provlded m a copy of his investigationreport concerning the crimlnal investigation of James Williams, and the Toll Records forAgent Khaalis and SCpl. Wllllams; however, I was not provlded with any wrltten reponthat summarized what the Toll Record information indicated as it related to the conductallegatlons.After meeting with the cNT Agents at the Intehal Affalrs Office, Captain wileyand I meet with Special Agent Greene (RAC) and Special Agent Hayes at the FBI building.The meeting was to Inquire about the status of the FBI'S Investlgation concerning theSCMPD Officers. Special Agent Greene advlsed the U.S District Attorney was briefed onthe investigation, and advised there was not enough probable cause to indict. SpecialAgent Hayes was asked to provide a copy of hls investigative report; however, headvised there was no investigative report done, but he would provide his notes, ftvoterAge na Hayes' notes we re never recelved.)Following the meeting with the FBl, Lleutenant Ollver and I brlefed Chlef Lovetton the status of the Administrative lnvestlgation. Chief lovtt was told the initialinformation lA Investigators were provided by Special Agent Hayes concetning thephone records between Agent Khaalis and SCpl. Williams was incorrect. Chief Lovettwas told neither CNT nor the FBI had provided lA investlgators with an Investi8ativereport, or a criminal case flle impllcating Agent Khaalis or any other SCMPD Officer.

On July 27, 2010, Captain Wiley advised Special Agent Hayes had delivered anenvelope to scMPD headquarters. The envelope contained speclal Agent Hayes'interview summaries of CNT Agents Delatorre, Guyer, and Harris. Speclal Agent Hayeshad conducted intervlews with all three CNT Agents on A7llzlto. In all three of hissummaries, the officers referenced the lncident where Agent Khaalis left the "wire tap"room. The written statement from Lleutenant Smlth was a copy of the statement I hadobtalned from hlm on 06/04/10. The content of Lleutenant Smlth's statement regardedAgent Khaalis leaving the "wire tap" room, and Agent Khaalis' response after he(Khaalis) was questioned by Lieutenant Smlth. Lleutenant Smlth attached a copy ot theCNT Conduct policy (GO# OPS-001). After reading the statements, Captain Wlley briefedChief lovett on the content of the statements whlch provided no new or additionalinformatlon to support the atlegation agalnst Agent Khaalis'On 08/13/10 at 1520hrs, A8ent Khaalis was taken off of Adminlstrativ Leaveand assigned to the Patrol Division per Chlef Lovett. When Agent Khaalls was placed onAdministrative Leave, CNT Commander Harrls transferred Agent Khaalis from CNT. Theadministra

Investigation of former Savannah-Chatham police chief Willie Lovett

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