Two veteran Decatur police officers have lost their jobs over $7. Although nobody in city government will go on record about specific details, a blog post last week recounted a series of puzzling events.
Officer Joshua L. Speed allegedly found $7 inside another officer’s patrol car. He gave $2 of it to Lt. Eric Jackson who kept the cash until the beginning of his next shift. Jackson tacked the bills on a police bulletin board and sent out an email saying $7 had been found.
According to a post on a blog from Crossfit Decatur, a city gym where Jackson trains, a captain interviewed Jackson two hours later and told him to turn in his badge. Jackson resigned in lieu of termination on Oct. 18 and officer Joshua L. Speed was terminated two days later according to reports filed with the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council.
Speed was hired by Decatur in January 2009, while Jackson joined the department in June 2005. Jackson, promoted to lieutenant in April 2015, was the highest-ranking black officer in the 47-person department. He had previously served as a field training officer and is a previous recipient of the department’s Officer of the Year Award.
The details of the incident initially surfaced through a blog posting from Crossfit Decatur, a city gym where Jackson trains.
No other details have been immediately confirmed. Jackson’s attorney Max Hirsh said the blog account is accurate but he wouldn’t comment further. He added that more information was forthcoming, but didn’t give specifics.
Citing that it was a personnel matter, City Manager Peggy Merriss said she wouldn’t comment on the case, and neither would anyone in the police department, including Mike Booker who’s been chief since 2006.
She added that both officers have had a grievance hearing with an independent hearing officer. She expects a recommendation — either upholding the decision or reducing the discipline — early next week.
The action is rare for Decatur’s police department.
Ken Vance, executive director of P.O.S.T., says he can’t remember when he last received termination reports from the city, but that he knows it’s been longer than 10 years.
Vance, who’s agency represents more than 60,000 state and local law enforcement officers, along with correctional and juvenile officers, says the action isn’t as trivial as it seems.
“I’m not going to comment on the details of this case,” he said. “But I will say, if you are not forthcoming, if you are not truthful, if you stole property, that’s a moral turpitude violation. It’s pretty clear-cut. If you’re testifying in court, and you have that on your record, a defense attorney can take you apart.
“I’ve seen officers revoked for less than $7 simply because they aren’t truthful,” he added. “I’m not saying that’s what happened here, but I’ve seen it.”
Both Speed and Jackson will come before a P.O.S.T. council review, but probably not until March at the earliest. The council could take no action, or put the officers’ certification on probation. It’s possible their certifications could be suspended or revoked.
Meantime, civil rights and defense attorney Mawuli Davis said the newly-created Decatur NAACP is looking into this case and the actions of the Decatur Police Department.
Davis, who’s president of the Decatur chapter, sent an email to the AJC saying, “We have concerns about how this was handled and possible disparate treatment.”
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