PD chief appointment addressed

The new appointment of an interim police chief in the City of Daleville was further explained following the Daleville City Council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, April 2.

According to a statement from city officials, events that occurred on Nov. 24, 2018, led to the change in the director of Daleville’s Department of Public Safety.

“On Nov. 24, 2018, a police officer with the Daleville Department of Public Safety responded to a disturbance at a residence on Richardson Drive,” the statements says. “An adult male was fatally wounded during the incident, and an adult male relative has been charged with murder.”

The statement is referencing the arrest of Thomas Goulart of Daleville, who was charged with murdering his brother, Chris Goulart, and the attempted murder of a police officer.

“In the days following the incident, Daleville Mayor Jayme Stayton received reports that some of the department’s employees who responded after the homicide occurred may not have met the city’s job performance expectations,” the statement says. “At Mayor Stayton’s direction, City Attorney Henry Steagall commissioned an independent investigation.”

The statement says Steagall brought the results of the investigation to “his clients,” the city council.

“After reviewing the findings, the mayor took appropriate personnel actions with the concurrence of the council,” the statement says. “The mayor also began the process of instituting certain additional personnel policies, which would help alleviate similar issues in the future.”

The statement says that the personnel actions do not involve officers who “initially responded to the incident,” but regard performance issues that happened after the homicide had occurred.

“The Daleville Department of Public Safety director has retired; some officers are no longer employed by the city, and other employees do not hold the same position they once held,” the statement says. “The mayor and council will continue to take such action as is necessary to protect the citizens of the City of Daleville.”

The statement also announces Lt. Allen Medley as the interim director of the Daleville Department of Public Safety, who the council met during its work session on Monday, April 1.

Medley officially took over the duties of director on April 1 from William “Willy” Powell, who served as the director since Jan. 18, 2017.

According to Sun-Courier archives, Powell served the Headland Police Department as a detective and 14 years with the Daleville department, reaching lieutenant. He also served with the Clayhatchee Police Department as patrolman and a chief, and served seven years in Hartselle in north Alabama before returning to Clayhatchee and then Daleville as a chief investigator.

Medley previously served as one of the School Resource Officers with Daleville City Schools. He has served in the position for a total of four years. Before he served as an SRO, he had over 20 years in law enforcement, including several years as a Daleville Police Department investigator, and he served in the Alabama National Guard.