Assistant County Manager McCoy accuses Commissioner Hayes of battery

ALBANY — Dougherty Assistant County Manager Mike McCoy has filed a police report in which he accuses County Commissioner John Hayes of poking him in the nose Saturday while county officials were in Savannah attending county government-related meetings.

In a police report taken by Savannah Chatham Metro Police Officer Kenneth Redfield on Saturday, the narrative states that McCoy’s accusation stemmed from what McCoy described as a “heated discussion” he had with Hayes. McCoy contends in the report that Hayes pointed his index finger at him, then “’poked’ his nose with his finger.” Redfield said there was no visible sign of injury, and that McCoy said he wanted to press charges.

McCoy would not comment about the report, which was obtained by The Albany Herald, other than to confirm that he had reported the incident to the Savannah Metro Police Department.

Hayes was in Savannah for the annual Association County Commissioners of Georgia meeting, while McCoy was one of several adult chaperones in the city for a Georgia Civic Awareness Program for Students event.

Hayes said this morning that he was unaware that a police report had been filed.

“Obviously, since I wasn’t aware that there was a police report, I haven’t seen it,” the District 2 commissioner said. “But I will tell you that nothing happened.”

County Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas said he learned of the alleged altercation between Hayes and McCoy while on a business trip to Atlanta. He said he immediately reached out to County Administrator Richard Crowdis and County Attorney Spencer Lee by phone, then met with them after returning to Albany.

“I know there was a meeting between Commissioner Hayes and Mr. Lee last night (Monday), but I haven’t had an opportunity to speak with Commissioner Hayes since that meeting,” Cohilas said this morning. “Obviously, anytime there is an allegation that a commissioner has been abusive or physical with a senior staff member, that is very serious.

“Keep in mind, this incident occurred during a children’s trip. That’s very serious to me. I’ve just received a copy of the police report, and at the forefront of my concerns is what happened in the presence of the children. I have reached out to (Dougherty County School System Superintendent) Butch Mosely to put him on notice of this incident, and I will follow up with him.”

Mosely said he has begun gathering information from individuals who were on the trip when the incident occurred and on other GCAPS excursions.

“We are taking no immediate action until we know the facts,” Mosely said this morning. “I’ve heard all kinds of allegations, but we’re waiting right now for the facts. Once the facts become clear, we will act and react. We will take the appropriate action.

“Rest assured, though, if our students were involved, we’re going to be in the middle of it.”

Members of the Dougherty County Commission, contacted late Monday night, said they weren’t in a position to comment on the matter at this time.

“My position right now is I didn’t see anything and I don’t know anything,” District 5 Commissioner Harry James, who is running for re-election in the May 24 Democratic primary, said. “I like Mike and I like John, and there are always two sides to every story. I don’t know what happened, so it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment.”

Both District 3 Commissioner Clinton Johnson, who was still in Savannah Monday night, and District 6’s Anthony Jones, who had just returned from the ACCG meeting Monday when contacted by The Herald, said they didn’t have enough details from the incident to comment.

“We’ll get the advice of our legal team and take action accordingly,” Johnson said. “We’ll do what we’ve got to do and keep going.”

While McCoy would not talk specifically about Saturday’s incident, he did confirm reports that it was not the first time he and Hayes had been at odds.

Emails read by The Albany Herald indicate a stormy relationship that includes threats to McCoy’s employment. Those emails centered on issues at other GCAPS events and involved at least one high-ranking official in the Dougherty County School System. Some of the emails also indicated something of an adversarial relationship Hayes might have had with some of the GCAPS students.

Regarding Saturday’s allegations, Redfield’s report read, in part:

“On the above listed time, date, and location I responded in reference to Michael McCoy wishing to make a report of simple battery accusing John Hayes of touching him in an unwanted way. McCoy stated that he and Hayes were in Savannah on a ‘youth trip’ for the local kids of Albany and that he and Hayes were both chaperones for the trip. McCoy stated that there was a dispute and a heated discussion regarding room keys. (McCoy said room keys were not part of the issue.) McCoy stated that at approximately 2210 hrs on 4-29-16 Hayes came to the hotel and had the altercation. McCoy stated that during the heated discussion Hayes pointed his index finger at him and then ‘poked’ his nose with the finger. McCoy stated that he felt assaulted and wanted a police report made of the incident.

“… I asked McCoy if there were any witnesses to this incident and McCoy stated, ‘No, no one was here but he and I.’ Hayes was not on scene and (I was) unable to get his side of the incident documented at this time. I asked McCoy why Hayes may have felt the need to come to his hotel if Hayes was staying at a hotel down town. McCoy stated that he did not know, however stated that he was purposely ignoring Hayes’ phone calls because he did not wish to speak to him. … I then asked McCoy if he was looking to pursue charges against Hayes for this incident. McCoy stated, ‘Yes, I would like to press charges.’ I then researched the code sections on assault, simple assault, and simple battery. I informed McCoy that the incident did not meet the code sections for assault or simple assault. I informed McCoy that Simple Battery code section would be used as the incident was an unwanted and provoking touch. I then informed McCoy of the process to obtain warrants and gave him a CRN card.”

Cohilas said county officials would address concerns surrounding the incident.

“We have several concerns,” he said. “First of all, this is a program that is county-funded and -operated and involves youths. We will determine what happened in the presence of those children. And, second, there was an alleged assault of a county employee. That is a serious charge.”