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Chief Lamaz Robinson has claimed a 'hostile work environment' as why he's leaving the Barnwell Police Department.
Following the news that Lamaz Robinson was slated to leave the Barnwell Police Department (BPD) and be hired as the Town of Allendale’s administrator, The People-Sentinel obtained a copy of Robinson’s letter of resignation.
On September 12, Robinson sent a letter of resignation to City of Barnwell Mayor Marcus Rivera. In the letter, Robinson cited a hostile work environment caused by council members as one of the reasons for his resignation.
“Unfortunately, this resignation is due to a hostile work environment I have been experiencing since I was appointed Chief of Police but has since worsened with the swearing-in of some council members in January 2022 and further,” states the letter.
In the letter, Robinson attributed his resignation to the actions of District 1 council member Ron Still, who began serving on the council in January 2022.
“Per your letter about [a] hostile work environment - you were appointed in June of 2021. That was eight months before I took office in January 2022,” stated Still in a letter to The People-Sentinel.
In Still’s letter to the newspaper, he questioned why Robinson chose to name only him, as other council members were elected in Jan. 2022: “I can’t help but feel this is politically motivated.”
On September 19, 2023, Robinson publicly endorsed Mayor Rivera for re-election on Facebook. Still is also running for the mayor’s seat.
“I have been unable to make changes without being highly scrutinized or questioned about my decisions,” Robinson wrote in the letter. “Like never before, we have a council member (Ron Still) who interferes with investigations of the police department and interjects himself into matters involving police work while trying to cause what I believe to be division among the citizens and police department employees.”
Still responded to this point stating, “I have asked for one report of a closed case by the police department. I filled out the proper paperwork/FOIA request that any citizen would be required to fill out. This was a closed case that was reopened by the Barnwell County Sheriff’s Office.”
“He comes to get reports from the Police Department that don’t involve him at all and try to use his position as a council member to circumvent the process and procedures that are in place for everyone regardless of their status in the community,” states Robinson in the letter.
According to Still, he requested this information after being reached out to by a constituent as to why BPD closed a case days after a death with no arrest made. Once taken over by BCSO, two individuals connected to the victim’s death were arrested.
According to state law, police reports are public record for 14 days after their creation. These documents are open to the public and do not require a FOIA or written request to be submitted.
In the letter, Robinson also mentioned that he had filed a complaint with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which enforces federal laws against employment discrimination and harassment.
“This same council member (Ron Still) I feel has discriminated against me based on my gender and I say this because he refers to me as ‘he/she’ in an email that was previously sent out on June 8, 2023, which led to the filing of an EEOC complaint against the city among with some other issues,” states Robinson in the resignation letter.
The People-Sentinel obtained a copy of the June 8 email sent by Still to council members and city administrator Lynn McEwen. It pertains to an employee matter requesting a written explanation as to the issue at hand, which is not explicitly stated in the email.
The email does not name Robinson, and continues to refer to the “employee.” In the last paragraph of the email, Still asks McEwen to reach out to the employee and ask for a written response with their concerns – stating “if he/she doesn’t then this would be reducing what is being asked and this will be a separate issue that council would also have to address.”
According to Still, the use of ‘he/she’ was to avoid the use of a direct pronoun which could potentially give away the anonymity of said employee.
Robinson’s resignation letter also details that Still “caused further problems with my agency and the Sheriff’s Department by promoting negativity among the agency heads by encouraging the Sheriff to do things such as pen letters to the city council and request meetings with the city council without ever talking to me about issues.”
The People-Sentinel has submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for “any and all communications from the past two years from any elected city official(s) or employee(s) of BPD that mention either Lamaz Robinson or Ron Still.” The purpose of this FOIA request is to expand on the allegations that Robinson stated.
The letter says that November 30, 2023 will be Robinson’s last day as chief of police; however, Barnwell City Council voted that his last day will be Sept. 26.
