MEIGS — Interim police chief Antonio Mango told the Meigs City Council that a complaint regarding racially-charged ticketing is unfounded, following an investigation.

A formal complaint was made Feb. 22 in reference to Capt. Donald McNeil which alleged a disproportionate percentage of his traffic citations were issued to white drivers commuting through Meigs.

As part of his investigation into the complaint, Mango gathered publicly available demographic data compiled by the Pew Research Center which showed the racial breakdown of drivers who commute through Meigs on a daily basis.

The Pew data showed 71 percent of commuters who pass through Meigs are white, 25 percent African-American and 3 percent Hispanic.

Mango said the data indicated a larger number of white drivers were being ticketed because they make up a greater share of the demographic breakdown of commuters through Meigs.

“We wanted to make sure that we let the council and the citizens know if there’s a larger number of citations that are given out to a particular drivers’ ethnicity, that’s the reason why,” Mango said. “You have a higher number of white drivers.”

Mango said he understood the complaint originated from a Meigs residents, who requested their representative on the city council investigate the matter.

Mayor Cheryl Walters and Mango said the complaint was taken seriously.

“I went immediately to interim chief Mango and told him that the council member had made the complaint and would he investigate and get an answer back to me and to the council member as soon as possible,” Walters said. “The information was gathered and we hope that this addresses the complaint and that the complainer is satisfied.”

Walters said she consulted with Mango, who decided the police department would continue issuing citations as needed while the investigation was ongoing.

McNeil did not issue any traffic citations during the investigation.

Once the investigation concluded, Walters and Mango agreed there was no basis to the complaint and McNeil was allowed to continue issuing citations.

Walters added that McNeil’s citations will continue to be monitored for a time to ensure there are no discrepancies.

Council member Jimmy Layton further defended McNeil, arguing that the way traffic stops are made does not allow an opportunity for racial discrimination.

“When I ran radar for the police force, you don’t know who’s driving the car,” Layton said. “All you’re looking at is the radar. You don’t know if that person is white or black.”

McNeil previously submitted his resignation from the department Feb. 11 but was reinstated following the termination of former police chief Darrell Laster by the city council Feb. 18.

Laster previously conducted an investigation into McNeil which concluded the officer was appropriating time without working by clocking in and not informing dispatch he was on duty.

A Georgia Peace Officer Standard and Training (POST) Council investigation into McNeil’s conduct was dismissed March 7 due to a lack of evidence.

Mango also introduced to the council two new patrolmen, Donald Thomas and Robert Woeller, who have joined the police department in a part-time capacity.

Thomas joins the police department with more than 15 years of law enforcement experience and currently works for the Grady County school system.

Woeller, who previously worked for the Camilla Police Department, has more than 13 years of experience with law enforcement.