Pubdate: Tue,  5 Feb 2002
Source: Sanford Herald, The (NC)
Copyright: The Sanford Herald 2002
Contact:  http://www.sanfordherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1577
Author: Sara Griffitt
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm (Corruption)

JUDGE REVIEWS SEVERAL MOTIONS IN DEPUTY'S SUIT

PITTSBORO - A Chatham County Superior Court judge ruled Monday that 
fired county deputy Dan Phillips will be allowed to amend a lawsuit 
filed against Sheriff Ike Gray to include allegations that Phillips 
was fired in part because of the role he played in an FBI 
investigation of nearly 5,000 pounds of marijuana discovered missing 
from the sheriff's department.

A second motion by Phillips' attorney, Chapel Hill-based Al McSurely, 
to name Chief Deputy Randy Keck both as an individual and in his 
capacity with the sheriff's department as a second defendant in the 
case, was partially denied. Keck will be named as a defendant in his 
role as chief deputy, but will not be named as an individual 
defendant, Judge Wade Barber decided.

Attorney Chris Sullivan of Raleigh, who, along with County Attorney 
Bob Gunn, is representing Gray in the case, argued that too much time 
had passed since the time the lawsuit was first filed on Feb. 1, 
2001, to allow the amendment to be made.

Sullivan did not oppose a motion to compel the testimony of Gray and 
Keck after Barber ruled that the lawsuit would be amended.

The original lawsuit named Gray as the sole defendant and alleged 
that Gray had Keck fire Phillips because Phillips had knowledge of 
racist incidents at Chatham Central High School in Bear Creek.

Phillips, who served as a resource officer at that school for several 
months, said he was fired the day after he was asked to take a lie 
detector test about the origins of a tape that contained racist 
statements allegedly made by former Chatham Central principal William 
"Buddy" Fowler.

Phillips has denied making the tape, and said he told Keck that he 
would take a lie detector test if the complainant would also submit 
to one.

The suit also alleges that Phillips was not allowed to report racial 
incidents that he witnessed at Chatham Central to the U.S. Department 
of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) investigators. The OCR 
investigators were in Chatham County for a complaint filed against 
the school system in mid-1999.

Soon after Phillips filed his suit, Gray's attorney filed a motion to 
move the case to a federal court in Greensboro. Phillips attorney, Al 
McSurely, filed an opposing motion April 4 to keep the case in 
Chatham County.

On Sept. 27, a federal judge ruled that the case should be heard in 
Chatham County.

The updated suit claims that Phillips was also fired because he 
helped a drug informant report to the FBI that more than 3,000 pounds 
of marijuana had been stolen from the back of an Army surplus truck 
and 2,000 more pounds had been stolen after it was dug up from where 
it had been buried a county landfill.

A tentative trial date for the suit has been set for mid-July.
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