by Paula Day

A LaGrange police detective was suspended for one day without pay Ash Wednesday for refusing to remove ashes from his forehead.

Marc Clay, a plain clothes detective with the LaGrange police and a member of St. Peter’s Church, attended the 7:15 a.m. Mass Feb. 16 with his wife, Melanie, and four-month-old son, Peter, and received ashes from Father John Kieran, the pastor.

Clay, a nine-year veteran of the force, was baptized last Easter and was eager to participate for the first time in the Catholic tradition.

“I could have gone at 4 p.m. or 7 p.m., but I wanted to go with my family,” the officer said in a telephone interview Feb. 18. “I didn’t do it because I felt I had to. I did it because I wanted to.”

When he arrived at work, several officers good-naturedly “ribbed” him about the ashes , according to Clay. He explained the Lenten tradition of ashes and his intention to wear them that day until they wore off, he said. However, Police Chief George Yates approached him asked him what was on his forehead, and then told him to wipe it off.

When he declined, he was approached a few moments later by his immediate supervisor, Lieut. Barbara Price, who ordered him to remove the ashes or face suspension, he said.

Clay asked her if she was certain about the order. He knew of no regulation regarding ashes. He said she replied, “I’m giving you a direct order to remove the ashes or go home.”

“I guess I’ll go home,” he said. “You’re making me choose between my work and my God and that’s not going to be a hard choice.”

Then I locked up my desk. At that point I was highly upset.”

Officer Clay recalled listening to the radio on the way to work and hearing the phrase, “Never confuse meekness and weakness.” “It was like God was getting me prepared,” he said.

He returned to work Feb. 17 following the one-day suspension which cost him $100 in lost pay. Aside from more ribbing meant to lighten the mood, everything at the department was back to normal, according to Clay. One officer approached him with a ‘post-it’ attached to his forehead saying, “my religion.”

Hindering work performance and causing a disturbance were given as reasons for the disciplinary action. But Clay said several fellow officers he spoke to said they were not disturbed by the ashes.

Clay intends to appeal his suspension in writing. If the suspension is upheld, he can appeal to the city Human Resources Director Terry Hinote and then to City Manager Jim Hanson.

The city manager, in a telephone interview Feb. 22, declined to comment publicly on the details of the case, saying it would be inappropriate since he may be asked to rule during the appeals process.

He defended the process as a speedy one which gives the employee several opportunities to reverse a disciplinary decision he or she believes to be unfair.

Chief Yates did not respond to a request from The Georgia Bulletin for a telephone interview.

Since becoming a Catholic, Clay has been increasingly active in the parish and other Catholic organizations. He and his wife participate in the Sponsor Couple Program for engaged couples, and are on the pro-life committee. He volunteered to usher recently.

The incident prompted news coverage in LaGrange and Atlanta. Father Kieran, in a by-line article in the LaGrange Daily News on Feb. 18, was given an opportunity to explain the 900-year-old tradition of anointing with ashes on the first day of Lent. Established as a fixed custom in 1091, the practice is highly popular in the Catholic Church, Father Kieran wrote, but he also pointed out that ashes were distributed in the Lutheran, Episcopal, Methodist and Presbyterian churches in LaGrange that day.

St. Peter’s, the only Catholic church in LaGrange, is made up of about 320 families, in a city of about 26,000.