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A claim has been filed by Fairhope Human Resources Director Pandora Heathcoe against the city of Fairhope after an alleged assault against Heathcoe by Fairhope Mayor Karin Wilson.
The claim was filed Friday, May 19 with the city clerk’s office, according to a confidential source within the city.
Two sources have told Gulf Coast Media the full report contains Heathcoe’s narrative about what happened when the alleged assault by Wilson took place and that former Fairhope Public Works Director Jennifer Fidler was present when that incident took place.
Gulf Coast Media has viewed a copy of the claim filed with the city, including a page that contains some of Heathcoe’s narrative of what led to the alleged assault.
According to the claim, the incident occurred on Dec. 29, 2016. Heathcoe met with Wilson and Fidler in a meeting where Wilson wanted to create a part-time position and fill it with her campaign volunteer, Lynn Mazer.
Heathcoe wrote she advised the mayor that they needed to create a job description for that position before it could be filled, and said Wilson replied she “didn’t care.”
Heathcoe wrote she reiterated the position must be a budgeted line item because city rules do not allow for the hiring of new employees in non-budgeted positions.
“Wilson started screaming ‘We don’t have a f------ budget,’” Heathcoe alleged in the claim. “While she did so, she shook me violently leaving me dazed. While shaking me, the Mayor yelled ‘How many f------ times do I have to tell you to do something?’”
Heathcoe wrote “the mayor’s assault and battery” left her injured and emotionally shaken. She added she was unable to carry out her work at top form and it continues to leave her emotionally distressed.
Heathcoe wrote in the claim she had filed a police report with the Fairhope police, but has not proceeded to swear out a warrant against Wilson.
Attached to the claim was a uniform incident/offense report filed earlier this year with the Fairhope Police Department.
The document is dated Dec 29, 2016, and reports a harassment (simple assault) occurred at 1:33 p.m. involving a 59-year-old female victim.
Sgt. Craig Sawyer with the Fairhope Police Department said he could not reveal the name of the victim or the potential suspect due to a departmental policy.
Sawyer said there was an investigation into that incident by the Fairhope Police Department.
“Because of the obvious conflict of interest between us investigating someone in a potential criminal matter who is in our chain of command, the victim was referred to the county’s magistrates,” Sawyer said. “They can investigate this because it is also within the county jurisdiction as well as the Fairhope jurisdiction. We documented it and referred the victim to the magistrates for the county.”
Sawyer said as of right now, no warrants have been signed and no arrests have been made.
“As with any misdemeanor offense, the victim has one year from the date of the offense to go see a magistrate to sign a warrant,” Sawyer said. “Since this allegedly occurred in December of last year, the victim still has until December to sign a warrant.”
Heathcoe wrote in the claim she is receiving medication for “her nerves” and the alleged assault continues to affect her ability to work.
She is seeking damages in the amount of $100,000 against the city.
The claim filed with the city is not a civil claim, but one that procedurally has to be filed with the city before the matter could be taken to a civil court.
While Wilson did not return phone calls from Gulf Coast Media, she did post the following on her official Facebook page Saturday afternoon:
“I remember when I contemplated running for Mayor how worried my husband was for me,” Wilson wrote. “I kept asking him what he thought could happen that would warrant such stress?
“He’d give me hypothetical situations and I always responded, 'but that’s not the truth.' If we allow worry and doubt to control our decisions based on an unknown future, there would never be positive progress.
“I’m surrounded by opportunists, people who believe I’m naive and those who try to demoralize me. But no one can or will take away the truth.”
Shortly after this article was posted on gulfcoastnewstoday.com mid-day Monday, Wilson took to her Facebook page again to release another statement on the claim
"Many people are reaching out for additional information about a claim that was filed on Friday," Wilson wrote. "I am confident that the facts will demonstrate that no assault occurred. Responses to the claim will be handled internally by legal counsel."
During an interview with Lori DuBose on WABF 1480 AM Monday morning, Council President Jack Burrell and Councilman Jay Robinson confirmed the claim had been filed Friday and said city staff was looking into the matter.
Burrell said he had heard about the alleged assault some time ago, but said he had only heard rumors.
“I had been hearing of this for quite some time, but only as rumors,” Burrell said. “Rumors hurt, and so you don’t act on rumors. What we have concrete is that a claim has been filed.”
Robinson, who is an attorney, said he wasn’t certain what the next step would be for the city.
“I assume our city attorneys are working on it behind the scenes and figuring out how to move forward,” Robinson said. “I don’t know what the next step is from the city’s perspective.”
Both said everything involving the incident is preliminary at this point.
“We have to proceed with caution,” Burrell said. “While it’s a very serious matter, we have to let the system work. As council members, we take care of what we can take care of and we let the legal system take of what it’s supposed to take care of.”
When called for a comment by Gulf Coast Media, City Attorney Marion “Tut” Wynne said he and his staff had reviewed the claim and had turned it over to the city’s insurer for further investigation.
