The pattern was documented. It was systematic. And it was now part of a federal inquiry.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division had done exactly what Simone requested: they reviewed Gerald Whitmore's 911 call history. What they found was remarkable, though perhaps not surprising:
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In 14 years of living on Oleander Court, Gerald Whitmore had placed 31 calls to Savannah 911 dispatch—31 calls in 14 years from a single residential address in a quiet, low-crime neighborhood.
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Of those 31 calls, 24 of them (more than three-quarters) involved people described by Whitmore as "suspicious," "unfamiliar," or "out of place."
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In 22 of those 24 calls, the individual reported as suspicious was a person of color.
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In 19 of those cases, the individual turned out to be a resident, a guest, a service worker, or a delivery person with a completely lawful reason to be exactly where they were.
Gerald Whitmore had never, not once in 14 years, called 911 about a white person who turned out to be exactly where they were supposed to be.
The DOJ inquiry found that Whitmore's call pattern constituted a documented case of racially discriminatory use of emergency services, and they referred their findings to the Savannah City Attorney for consideration of civil penalties and a formal cease-and-desist.
Six weeks after the encounter on Oleander Court, the Savannah Police Department released the findings of its internal investigation. The findings were unambiguous:
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Officer Brett Lawson had violated the department's equal protection policy.
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He had violated the department's use of stop-and-identification procedures.
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He had failed to articulate a lawful basis for requesting that a private citizen vacate their own property.
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He had applied enforcement standards unevenly and without documented justification based on race.
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In the assessment of the investigating officer, he had demonstrated a pattern of conduct over the preceding 90 days that reflected a systemic failure to apply department procedures in a racially neutral manner.
The department recommended termination. Brett Lawson was fired. His eight-year career with the Savannah Police Department ended because he walked up a driveway and told the wrong woman to leave her own porch.
Officer Kyle Durbin, his partner, received a formal written reprimand and was required to complete 40 hours of constitutional law and civil rights training before returning to patrol duties.
Gerald Whitmore received a formal cease-and-desist letter from the Savannah City Attorney's Office prohibiting him from using emergency dispatch services to report individuals based on race or appearance without documented criminal behavior. He was also notified that the city was considering a civil nuisance action for the pattern of unfounded emergency calls across 14 years. Local attorneys noted publicly that he could face civil liability exposure related to the harassment and emotional distress his calls had caused.
Now, here is where the story takes one more significant turn. Simone had never intended for any of this to be public. She filed her complaints through the appropriate legal channels and went to work: she presided over her first case docket that Monday, she organized her chambers, she did her job.