Fired deputies to receive pay and benefits, sheriff says

<p>Flanked by his legal team, embattled Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill said Tuesday he will give 27 fired deputies their pay and benefits but not necessarily their jobs.</p><p>Hill, who fired the deputies on his first day in office on Jan. 3 as part of a reorganization of the department, defended his actions as not only legal but correct. But a Clayton County Superior Court judge ruled he must reactivate the deputies.</p><p>The deputies were expected to be able to return to work on Wednesday, when Hill will meet with the deputies and tell them what their new jobs will be.</p><p>When the deputies were fired, they were summoned to the county jail, stripped of their guns and badges and handed photocopied letters of dismissal. Sheriff's Department snipers stood guard on the roof of the jail as the workers were escorted out.</p><p>Hill said his decision Tuesday was motivated out of concern for the deputies' families.</p><p>"My leadership is stern but flexible. The most important thing is to restore salary and benefits and look at each case to see who we can help," Hill said.</p><p>Several of the dismissed deputies bristled at how Hill did not invited them to his news conference.</p><p>"It's interesting that strangers were allowed inside but his own employees were not allowed in the building," said Maj. Doug Massengale, one of the terminated deputies. "It's typical of how he has handled himself."</p><p>Hill claimed the employees were not protected by the county's civil service merit system and could be fired at will. But Clayton County Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell disagreed and sought the injunction from the judge.</p><p>Hill defeated former Sheriff Stanley Tuggle and two other opponents in the sheriff's race in July.</p><p>Hill is a former state legislator and police detective who clashed with some county commissioners and a local police chief before running for office. While in the Georgia House, Hill unsuccessfully pushed a bill that would have put Clayton County's police operations under the command of the sheriff's department.</p>