Afr'Am must pay officers $43,000, judge rules

NORFOLK

Afr'Am Fest officials must pay dozens of city police officers and sheriff's deputies nearly $43,000 for security work they provided in the spring, a General District Court judge ruled Friday.

Judge Ray W. Dezern Jr. heard no testimony on the matter. Instead, he based his ruling on a state statute that requires defendants being sued for debts to swear under oath prior to a court hearing that they do not owe the debt.

That had not been done, Dezern said.

John McIntyre, an attorney for Afr'Am Fest, argued that Donna Smith, who heads the organization, would have sworn under oath that organizers did not owe the money, given a chance.

Smith said that at a hearing on the issue earlier this week, Judge Gwendolyn J. Jackson never gave her a chance to swear under oath. Instead, she ordered both sides to work out a compromise.

Smith said she still hopes that can be done. Three officers have been paid $1,540, she said.

Attorney Peter G. Decker III said he and Martin Thomas Jr., who represent the public safety employees, have sought payment for two months.

On Friday, Afr'Am officials offered to pay police and deputies 13 cents on the dollar, Decker said. Officers unanimously rejected the offer, he said.

Both attorneys also expressed doubts after the court ruling that they will collect the entire $43,000. Afr'Am officials have told them repeatedly they do not have the money, they said. "Our door remains open" to a compromise, Decker said.

"These officers all work two and three jobs to make ends meet," he said. "If they hadn't been at Afr'Am Fest, they would have been somewhere else working. They deserve to be paid."

Smith said she was appalled that Dezern "did not honor Judge Jackson's order that this be worked out. It was unfair."

Her organization, the Southeastern Virginia Arts Association, sponsors Afr'Am Fest as its annual fundraiser. The association provides scholarships and training for young artists in Hampton Roads.

Afr'Am, a celebration of African American music and arts, has had scheduling problems and poor attendance the last few years.

Smith said her organization has been maligned in media stories about the unpaid security costs.

To hold the festival at Town Point Park, which is owned by the city, Norfolk leaders forced Afr'Am officials to pay higher rates for security than other festival organizers pay, she said. Officers were to be paid $32 per hour at Afr'Am Fest compared with $25 per hour at Harborfest, she said.

"They milked the cow," Smith said of officers, who are owed from $3,000 for the lieutenant who oversaw security for the weekend to $320 for some officers who worked a 10-hour shift during the event, held May 21 to 23.

"Our plan is to pay any debts that we owe," she said. But she added: "I question whether their numbers are legitimate. If we're able to save $10,000 on safety and security, we could help a child go to college with a scholarship."

Decker said the issue isn't about scholarships. It's about Afr'Am officials honoring their commitments.

"They signed a legitimate contract that they have failed to honor," he said. "The bottom line is my clients sure would have liked to have known what she was planning to pay them before they agreed to provide security."

Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com