Drizzt
Member
The Associated Press State & Local Wire
May 2, 2003, Friday, BC cycle
SECTION: State and Regional
LENGTH: 627 words
HEADLINE: GBI agent appeals transfer over gun store employee firing
DATELINE: ATLANTA
BODY:
A Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent who was assigned to Homeland Security detail is appealing his transfer to other duties following disclosure of investigative information to a civilian.
The disclosure may have led to the firing of a gun store employee who is a leader of a paramilitary group.
GBI special agent John Lang was assigned as a threat analyst to the Department of Homeland Security when he saw a classified "intelligence release" by a Gwinnett County detective concerning Jimmy Wynn, 45, a Lawrenceville resident and commanding officer of the Militia of Georgia.
The memo noted that Wynn was working as a retail clerk at Southern Guns in Norcross. It said Wynn has insinuated "the use of violence against law enforcement officers" and often carried guns in his car.
The report said his new job would allow Wynn "to collect intelligence" on police by getting home addresses of officers when they bought guns at the store and filled out federal paperwork. The report also noted Wynn was not wanted on any criminal charges.
Lang notified the gun shop owner about the memo, and Wynn was fired.
Wynn has been mostly unemployed since being laid off at Lucent Technologies in late 2001. He did not know why he had been fired until told by a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the newpspaper reported Friday.
He said he has never advocated violence against police or government officials and said he "was done plain dirty."
His former boss, David Simons, told the newspaper that Wynn was a probationary employee and was about to be fired anyway because of his job performance.
About a month after the firing, Lang, a decorated GBI veteran, was reprimanded and transferred to another job.
His superiors said he violated GBI policy by sharing information with a civilian and that he "more than likely contributed to, if not caused, the termination of a subject's job because of his association with a particular group with no evidence of a crime being planned or committed, and without consulting a superior..." GBI legal director Mark Jackson wrote.
In a letter appealing his reprimand, Lang noted FBI inaction on some terrorism information in 2001 and said: "This delay and sitting on information is precisely why incidents like Sept. 11 occurred.
"What good is intelligence if it is not used to alert innocent victims and prevent violent behavior or incidents?" he wrote.
Lang said the disciplinary action might deter other agents from making decisions "when time is of the essence to prevent an act of terrorism."
He also said that sharing information with private security departments and other nonpolice agencies is common.
Wynn, who has been with the militia since 1987, said he has been investigated by police in the past and goes out of his way to avoid any appearance of illegality.
"I do not discuss acts of sedition, violence, or any kind of activity which may be deemed to be illegal - not even in joking," he said. "As a matter of fact, I don't even carry a firearm in my automobile because I fear it would give the overzealous (police) an excuse to shoot me."
Lang's appeal is now before a Superior Court judge in DeKalb County.
Robert Friedmann, a Georgia State University criminal justice professor who studies terrorism and security issues, said law enforement agencies "want to focus on leads that produce results."
"You don't want to be East Germany, but you don't want to be fish bait waiting for the terrorists to strike. That's the dilemma of a democratic society," Friedmann said.
How intelligence information should be used or shared is "virgin territory," he said.
"It's not an easy call to make," Friedmann said. "It's not just a professional judgment. It's an art."
May 2, 2003, Friday, BC cycle
SECTION: State and Regional
LENGTH: 627 words
HEADLINE: GBI agent appeals transfer over gun store employee firing
DATELINE: ATLANTA
BODY:
A Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent who was assigned to Homeland Security detail is appealing his transfer to other duties following disclosure of investigative information to a civilian.
The disclosure may have led to the firing of a gun store employee who is a leader of a paramilitary group.
GBI special agent John Lang was assigned as a threat analyst to the Department of Homeland Security when he saw a classified "intelligence release" by a Gwinnett County detective concerning Jimmy Wynn, 45, a Lawrenceville resident and commanding officer of the Militia of Georgia.
The memo noted that Wynn was working as a retail clerk at Southern Guns in Norcross. It said Wynn has insinuated "the use of violence against law enforcement officers" and often carried guns in his car.
The report said his new job would allow Wynn "to collect intelligence" on police by getting home addresses of officers when they bought guns at the store and filled out federal paperwork. The report also noted Wynn was not wanted on any criminal charges.
Lang notified the gun shop owner about the memo, and Wynn was fired.
Wynn has been mostly unemployed since being laid off at Lucent Technologies in late 2001. He did not know why he had been fired until told by a reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the newpspaper reported Friday.
He said he has never advocated violence against police or government officials and said he "was done plain dirty."
His former boss, David Simons, told the newspaper that Wynn was a probationary employee and was about to be fired anyway because of his job performance.
About a month after the firing, Lang, a decorated GBI veteran, was reprimanded and transferred to another job.
His superiors said he violated GBI policy by sharing information with a civilian and that he "more than likely contributed to, if not caused, the termination of a subject's job because of his association with a particular group with no evidence of a crime being planned or committed, and without consulting a superior..." GBI legal director Mark Jackson wrote.
In a letter appealing his reprimand, Lang noted FBI inaction on some terrorism information in 2001 and said: "This delay and sitting on information is precisely why incidents like Sept. 11 occurred.
"What good is intelligence if it is not used to alert innocent victims and prevent violent behavior or incidents?" he wrote.
Lang said the disciplinary action might deter other agents from making decisions "when time is of the essence to prevent an act of terrorism."
He also said that sharing information with private security departments and other nonpolice agencies is common.
Wynn, who has been with the militia since 1987, said he has been investigated by police in the past and goes out of his way to avoid any appearance of illegality.
"I do not discuss acts of sedition, violence, or any kind of activity which may be deemed to be illegal - not even in joking," he said. "As a matter of fact, I don't even carry a firearm in my automobile because I fear it would give the overzealous (police) an excuse to shoot me."
Lang's appeal is now before a Superior Court judge in DeKalb County.
Robert Friedmann, a Georgia State University criminal justice professor who studies terrorism and security issues, said law enforement agencies "want to focus on leads that produce results."
"You don't want to be East Germany, but you don't want to be fish bait waiting for the terrorists to strike. That's the dilemma of a democratic society," Friedmann said.
How intelligence information should be used or shared is "virgin territory," he said.
"It's not an easy call to make," Friedmann said. "It's not just a professional judgment. It's an art."
