DUNWOODY, Ga. — A Dunwoody resident filed suit in DeKalb County Superior Court Oct. 31 alleging the City of Dunwoody and three city employees violated the Georgia Open Records Act.
During public comment at the Oct. 30 City Council meeting, Joseph Hirsch, a longtime critic of the Dunwoody Police Department, said responsibility for the attrition rate among Dunwoody police officers can be laid at the feet of Chief Billy Grogan.
Hirsch lobbed criticism at Grogan, City Manger Eric Linton and the Dunwoody City Council for failing to address concerns he has brought to the attention of the City Council over the years.
Hirsch, a journalist, ran unsuccessfully for the City Council District 1 seat in 2017.
Appen Media reached out to Dunwoody Communications Director Jennifer Boettcher for comment on Hirsch’s lawsuit.
“We cannot comment on pending litigation, but we want to make it clear that the City of Dunwoody complies with all applicable provisions of the Georgia Open Records Act,” Boettcher said.
The legal action stems from an incident Oct. 13, 2021, involving Police Officer Minh Pham and the manager of an automotive store, Mr. Tire.
A dispatch communication from Oct. 13 acknowledges the officer’s presence at the scene but no incident report was submitted about any altercation.
Hirsch’s lawsuit alleges “Dunwoody Police Officer Minh Pham essentially held hostage a Mr. Tire store manager against his will by causing the store manager to believe he was being detained for failing to fix the officer’s wife’s personal car.”
Hirsch said he began making open records requests for details regarding the incident Oct. 19, 2021.
When Hirsch filed a request Oct. 28 for Pham’s text messages from 3 p.m. Oct. 13 to 5 p.m. Oct. 14, the city’s record clerk said there were no such records available.
The open records request was then…
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