The Athens-Clarke County Unified Government will pay fired Athens-Clarke police officer Taylor Saulters and his lawyer $250,000 to settle a slander lawsuit he filed over his termination.

The settlement was approved even as neighboring Oglethorpe County is threatened with a lawsuit by a woman who alleges she was struck and injured by a sheriff’s patrol car Saulters was driving.

Former Athens-Clarke Police Chief Scott Freeman fired Saulters, a rookie officer, for violating Athens-Clarke police policies shortly after Saulters struck a fleeing suspect with his patrol car in a June 1 pursuit. A subsequent investigation determined Saulters did not intentionally use the patrol car as a weapon and that criminal charges were therefore not warranted.

Oglethorpe County Sheriff David Gabriel hired Saulters as a deputy two days after Freeman fired him. Gabriel said Saulters subsequently took a full-time job as an office manager in the private sector, but continued to serve as a part-time reserve deputy.

Commissioners were divided on whether to accept the settlement agreement negotiated between Saulters' lawyer and outside counsel representing the Athens-Clarke County government. At a Tuesday meeting, commissioners Tim Denson and Patrick Davenport voted against settling, and Mariah Parker abstained. Five other commissioners voted to accept the settlement agreement. Commissioner Andy Herod was absent and Commissioner Jerry NeSmith, acting as mayor pro tem in the absence of Mayor Kelly Girtz, did not vote.

Some on the commission and in the public were angered by the settlement, which they said seemed to reward the officer. Some also thought the public should have been told of the possible settlement before Tuesday’s meeting. County Attorney Bill Berryman told commissioners Saulters and his lawyer had returned a sign copy of the settlement agreement on Friday.

Other commissioners said the settlement was prudent.

"We didn't want to risk spending a lot more taxpayer money," NeSmith said.

NeSmith said Girtz would soon issue a press release about the settlement.

Saulters alleged in his lawsuit that statements by Freeman and other defendants led the public to believe Saulters had intentionally struck the man he and other officers were pursuing on a warrant for a non-violent criminal charge.

“Former Chief Scott Freeman, Athens-Clarke County, and the named defendants turned their backs on a police officer for doing his job,” said Saulters’ attorney, Phillip Holloway, in January. “They sacrificed Taylor Saulters’ good name and reputation at the altar of political expediency."

"He (Saulters) is glad to put it behind him and we are glad we were able to resolve our issues with Athens-Clarke County," Holloway said Wednesday.

Besides Freeman, Saulters and Holloway named as defendants former Athens-Clarke County police spokesman Epifanio Rodriguez; Richard Odum, a retired officer who supervised the internal affairs investigation of the Saulters incident; and Athens-Clarke County Manager Blaine Williams in addition to the Athens-Clarke government.

In Oglethorpe County, no lawsuit has been filed over Saulters' allegedly striking with his cruiser an Oglethorpe County woman, but the Atlanta law firm Monge & Associates filed a required "ante-litem" notice (a formal declaration of intent to sue) with the Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Office and Oglethorpe County Commission Chairman Bill Pittard on Nov. 5. Pittard confirmed on Wednesday that Oglethorpe officials received the notice.

In that notice, the law firm claims the alleged victim was injured by a sheriff's vehicle on Oct. 3 as deputies sought a suspect. Saulters denies his vehicle struck the woman.

"At no time did I strike anyone with my vehicle," Saulters wrote in a statement attached to an Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Office incident report.

"He didn't do any such thing," Holloway added.