Former Kingston police chief, mayor at odds over dismissal

KINGSTON - The former Kingston police chief has sued the mayor, arguing his free-speech rights were violated when he was let go two years ago and demanding the city make up his lost pay. <br> <br> Former chief Robert Carter filed the suit in Bartow County Superior Court against Mayor Margo Martin. Carter&#39;s attorney, Jamie Miller, says the lost wages have not been added up, but Carter was to make about $25,000 in 2000, the year he was fired. <br> <br> Miller says Carter was fired unfairly because he opposed the mayor&#39;s political ideas and proposals for the police department. <br> <br> The town disputes the firing, saying Carter simply was not rehired when his job came up for renewal. <br> <br> The suit, filed January 3, also claims the town council did not correctly follow its charter when it dismissed Carter. <br> <br> Town attorney Bill Greene says Carter arrested Martin on a drunken-driving charge before the firing. But he said the arrest did not factor in the mayor&#39;s decision not to rehire the police chief. <br> <br> Kingston is a town of about 800 people about 50 miles northwest of Atlanta.