Good people of Rockdale, we at Wrong4rockdale.com are working diligently to bring you all the factual information you need to see through the lies that are being peddled by Eric Levett and his corrupt administration. The fact is, Eric Levett has told many lies over the last seven years and has wasted millions of dollars due to incompetence, poor product research, and overall lousy management of the tax payer's dollars.
Here is an example, On January 5, 2015, Alice Queen of the Rockdale Citizens covered a story on the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office, possibly becoming the first sheriff’s office and Georgia to have their patrol officers equipped with bodycameras. Eric Levett went on Record by presenting a 332,650 dollar contract request for bodycameras to the Rockdale County Board of Commissioners. Eric Levett stated "no tax dollars" would be used to purchase the bodycameras, because he will be using the federal seized assets funds to cover the cost. Levett went to say, “ the department has been exploring the use of bodycameras since 2013 as part of a project to replace three different camera systems that were in use in patrol cars.”( Alice Queen,2015). Eric Levett and his administration stated it would take 3 to 4 months to deploy the cameras into the field once the commissioners approved the requisition. Eric Levett and his administration ended their proposal by saying,” The use of bodycameras is advocated by the Department of Justice, the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the American Civil Liberties Union. The cameras are a good tool for promoting transparency, which builds trust in the community.”( Alice Qeen,2015)
On January 14, 2015, the Rockdale county board of commissioners approved the bodycameras request, and Commissioner Oz Nesbitt praised Eric Levett for his efforts in pursuing transparency and integrity within the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office.
In February 2015, Eric Levett and his Administration was Invited Rockdale County NAACP Meeting to answer questions and address concerns about the bodycameras. One of the questions asked in the meeting was, “ Are the bodycameras purchased?” Fact: Eric Levett purchased and received “38 new cameras in patrol cars, 29 upgraded in-car cameras, 67 bodycameras free of charge, and 40 additional body cameras that the department will purchase.” ( Alice Qeen,2015). That is a total of 107 body-cams.
The most critical question asked in the meeting was, "what funds were used to pay for the cameras and how will they be maintained". Eric Levett and his administration stated,” These in-car-camera systems and with all technology, the system will require upkeep to remain operational and up-to-date. Failure to expend monies for upkeep could ultimately result in system failures when we need it most. "Keeping this system up and running is not expected to increase the burden on the taxpayer. Additional expansions and major repairs will continue to be paid for with seized drug funds." Routine maintenance and upkeep will be taken out of the operating budget as has been with the in-car camera system.(Covington News,2015)
Now that you have the back story on the bodycameras, here is the summary of the facts. One hundred and seven bodycams were purchased and were stored in a storage room at the sheriff's office. The bodycameras were never implemented since they were approved and purchased. The bodycameras remained in that storage room for over five years eventually, becoming obsolete. Eric Levett and his administration promised they would have the bodycameras out within 3 to 4 months, and would not burden the cost of maintenance and upgrade on the tax payers of Rockdale. Good people of Rockdale, as you can see, this was all a lie. We are now in the year 2020, and the county still has no bodycameras.
In October of 2019, Eric Levett went to the Rockdale County Board of Commissioners to request the taxpayers pay for new bodycameras costing almost "Two Million Dollars" of taxpayers money. When asked about the old bodycameras, Eric Levett attempted to lie and stated, "it slip his mind." Eric Levett then continued to ask for the bodycameras to be paid for by the people of Rockdale.
People of Rockdale, we cannot continue to let lying Levett lie to our face then act like he does not owe the people of Rockdale an explanation on what happened to the old bodycameras and why they were never used. This wasteful spending of taxpayers' dollars must stop. We can not continue to move in this direction.
Questions To Ask Eric Levett And His Administration:
1. Why did Eric Levett and his administration lie about using seized drug funds to maintain and upgrade the bodycameras?
2. How can Eric Levett clam to have to promote trust and transparency when he has continued to lie about the wasteful spending coming out of his administration?
3. Why were the bodycameras not deployed within the time frame Eric Levett and his administration promised?
4. How can Eric Levett spend 332,650 dollars on bodycameras that sat in a storage room for five years, and it not be considered wasteful spending?
5. Why should the taxpayers keep paying out taxes for Eric Levett and his administration to continue to squander?
6. Who was the leader of the sheriff’s office, Eric Levett or Scott Freeman?
7. Would you give 2 million in taxpayers’ dollars to an incompetent sheriff who has no understanding of fundamental business practice?
8. Where are the old bodycameras now?
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