Savannah’s Civil Service Board recommendation says Asst. Police Chief suspended officer for ‘personal and political reasons’

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - More than a year after an arrest-- A city board now says that punishment for one of SPD’s officers wasn’t justified.

This arrest itself led to the suspension of multiple officers months later.

We obtained the letter from the Civil Service Board to Chief Gunther and Savannah’s City Manager, Jay Melder, regarding one of these suspensions.

It essentially says Assistant Chief Adams suspended a Corporal based on his personal feelings—and that the decision was ‘politically motivated’.

This all stems from an arrest on July 11, 2024.

Savannah Police say a man wanted for rape and aggravated assault ran from officers when they tried to arrest him.

Several officers worked together to get 31-year-old Marquel Robinson into handcuffs.

Following that, the department and use-of-force experts reviewed the body camera footage from that day. No discipline was issued to the officers involved.

Chief Lenny Gunther has spoken about this specific arrest at a press conference previously.

That decision changed when citizen complaints came in, and the case was reopened.

Some of the officers involved in the arrest were suspended after that and put on paid administrative leave.

Among them—Corporal John Keel, who received a five-day suspension issued by Assistant Chief DeVonn Adams.

His suspension was reduced from five days to two after an appeal.

The district attorney later announced she would not pursue any criminal charges against the officers.

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson weighed in on the scrutiny surrounding the department at his press conference on Monday.

“If you are fighting for your life, it’s hard to say how people would react. It’s not easy being a police officer. It’s easy to say what they should do—if you were the police officer," said Savannah Mayor Van Johnson.

Last week, the Civil Service Board got involved with Keel’s suspension appeal.

The board is an independent panel, appointed by the city but mandated by the state. It’s job is to review suspension and discipline appeals.

In the letter regarding Cpl. Keel’s case, it says officers were justified in the techniques they used during that arrest.

The board goes on to say Keel’s suspension was not only ‘unjustified’ but ‘politically motivated’.

The letter reads, “We respect Assistant Chief DeVonn Adams’ community perspective; however, it does not align with policy or law on the use of force. Furthermore, during the hearing, Assistant Chief DeVonn Adams didn’t convince the board, nor could he remember any policy-based justification for his rationale for issuing the 5-day suspension of Cpl. John Keel. • Somewhere within the Savannah Police Department, there was a breakdown in the proper process."

The board wrote that Assistant Chief Adams couldn’t explain any of the important reasoning behind the suspension.

The report ended by saying, “Therefore, there are no grounds to uphold the decision to suspend Cpl. John Keel.”

“Dr. Kevin Angell, PhD, (Doctorate from Liberty University in Criminal Justice, Senior GAPOST Instructor // Level III, Internal Affairs Instructor, Use of Force Instructor, Use of Force Investigations Instructor, and Defensive Tactics Instructor), testified as a subject matter expert during the civil service board hearing, conducted a written review of the case and determined the uses of force employed by John Keel on July 11, 2024, were objectionably reasonable and necessary with respect to the United States Supreme Court.”

The Civil Service Board's report read

WTOC reached out to speak with Assistant Chief Adams about the board’s findings.

We’re told some of the officers are still in the appeals process and that Adams will not be commenting at this time.

The final decision lies in the hands of City Manager Jay Melder.

We also reached out to City Manager Melder to ask for his response to the board’s allegations and whether a final decision has been made. We are awaiting a response.

As for the suspect in the original case, Marquel Robinson, he is due back in court on September 19th.