By Staff
Former Belhaven officer says officials, dispatcher sabotaged his reputation
By MIKE VOSS
Contributing Editor
Former Belhaven police Lt. Joshua Hopkins, in a lawsuit filed Friday, accuses Adam O’Neal, Guinn Leverette and Tiffany Williams of defamation and O’Neal and Leverette of conspiracy to harm Hopkins.
O’Neal is Belhaven’s mayor. Leverette is Belhaven’s interim town manager. Williams is a telecommunicator for the Belhaven Police Department. As of Friday evening, it was unclear when the lawsuit could be heard in court.
The lawsuit, filed in Beaufort County Superior Court, asks for a jury trial and, as to the first claim for relief, seeks damages of more than $10,000 from each of the defendants. Alternatively, it seeks damages of more than $10,000, jointly and severally, from the defendants. As for the second claim for relief, seeks damages of more than $10,000 from O’Neal and Leverette. Alternatively, it seeks damages of more than $10,000 from O’Neal and Leverette jointly or severally.
The lawsuit also seeks punitive damages in amounts to be determined at trial and that costs of litigating the lawsuit be taxed against the defendants.
O’Neal, Leverette and Williams responded to the lawsuit in a news release sent to the Washington Daily News on Sunday. The release was signed by O’Neal. It identified Williams as Tiffany (Williams) Davis.
Former Belhaven Police Chief George Hayden and Hopkins were fired by the town March 20. The decision to terminate the town’s two top-ranking officers was made by interim Town Manager Guinn Leverette based on allegations of misconduct. On Friday, they contested their firings at a hearing open to the public.
The lawsuit claims the defendants made false statement about Hopkins with the intent to “impeach” Hopkins in his trade and profession. The lawsuit specifically alleges that O’Neal and Leverette made false statements to Harry Meredith, chief deputy of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. It also alleges Williams made false statements to people who had been arrested for committing crimes, people working within the Belhaven community, law-enforcement officers who were supervised by Hopkins and other employees of the Belhaven Police Department.
The lawsuit alleges that O’Neal and Leverette, during a meeting with Belhaven Councilman Steven Carawan and members of the sheriff’s office, stated that Hopkins was fired because he had been observed using illegal narcotics in his police vehicle by more than one police officer. Those accusations are false, the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit contends Williams falsely accused Hopkins of being “on drugs” and “smoking” drugs while on duty and was stealing evidence. The lawsuit alleges that Williams made those accusations to Belhaven residents “who have repeated those statements to other law enforcement officers and who, when repeating said statements, have unequivocally attributed the statements to Defendant Williams.”
The lawsuit contends O’Neal attempted to prevent the sheriff’s office from hiring Hopkins, who worked as a deputy for the sheriff’s office before he began working for Belhaven’s police force.
The filing of the lawsuit was expected, according to O’Neal.
The lawsuit contends that O’Neal and Leverette “engaged in a common scheme to perform unlawful acts and/or to perform lawful acts in unlawful ways for the purpose of causing injury to Plaintiff Joshua Hopkins. In particular, O’Neal and Leverette conspired to make false statements to individuals that touch or concern Hopkins in his special trade or occupation, and, attempted to use deceptive practices to induce third parties to forgo business relationships with Plaintiff Joshua Hopkins.”
The one-page release ends with this statement: