A Sandy Springs police officer found himself in hot water after allegedly helping his girlfriend cheat on an Alpharetta Police Department exam in August, according to records obtained by Appen Media.
The Sandy Springs officer was a sergeant at the time but has been demoted after an internal investigation concluded he violated the department’s rules of conduct. Department officials also required him to write a letter to the statewide law enforcement accreditation agency recommending his girlfriend have her certification revoked.
Appen Media and its Sandy Springs Crier newspaper obtained copies of that investigation, the board letter and other public documents that describe the allegations.
According to those materials, the woman was a Sandy Springs police officer for eight months before the department released her during field training in December 2024. She then applied to join the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety.
Alpharetta leadership said they would not normally have hired her, according to public documents. However, according to the Sandy Springs investigation, the sergeant called an Alpharetta detective to vouch for her. He also allegedly told Alpharetta she did not have a good match with her Sandy Springs Field Training Officer (FTO) and that the FTO had since been removed from several department assignments.
During the internal affairs probe, the sergeant told Sandy Springs officials the two were not in a relationship at that time of the phone call but became involved later.
The Alpharetta recruiter said he would not have moved the candidate forward without that recommendation. He added that he learned the two were in a relationship when the sergeant pinned on her badge during the Alpharetta swearing-in ceremony, according to the Sandy Springs report.
After the ceremony, the woman was taking an exam in order to use the less-lethal weapon Taser 7. While taking the test in a room with two other Alpharetta police officers, she called the Sandy Springs sergeant and read him questions, according to the investigative report. The sergeant, who had been a Taser 7 instructor at Sandy Springs, allegedly gave her the answers.
One of the woman’s peers reported the incident to their supervisors, Alpharetta department officials told Appen Media. After investigating the situation, they terminated the woman’s employment and notified the Sandy Springs Police Department.
“We take violations of integrity seriously and act decisively when our standards are not met,” Alpharetta officials said.
Upon receiving notice of the incident, Sandy Springs opened an internal investigation.
During that process, the sergeant admitted to helping the woman with answers but said he didn’t know she was taking a test until after the fact, according to the report. If he had known, he told investigators, he would not have answered her questions.
Following the investigation, Sandy Springs officials handed down a determination that the sergeant’s actions constituted a violation of the department’s code of conduct.
Officials took particular issue with the sergeant’s involvement in the woman’s hiring at Alpharetta and his alleged comments about the Sandy Springs field training program.
The sergeant, who has been with the department since 2017, was at one point a Field Training Officer himself.
Sandy Springs officials said the woman’s performance there was lacking and noted, “at the time of her release from the SSPD Field Training program, most of the FTOs documenting her poor performance were assigned to [the sergeant’s] shift. His recommendation to Alpharetta PD was inaccurate, misleading, and damaging to the reputation of the Sandy Springs Police Department.”
As part of the prescribed disciplinary actions, the sergeant had to give an in-person apology to the Sandy Springs FTO corps and the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety.
He also faced a demotion, four-day suspension, loss of take-home car for 30 days and mandatory training.
Perhaps one of the more heart-wrenching punishments was the letter he had to write to the state law enforcement standards board recommending they revoke the woman’s certification.
A week after the investigation concluded, he sent the note.
“It is our duty to remove those that are unfit to remain in this profession,” it included.
As of Jan.14, the woman is still eligible for duty, but the accreditation agency has a flag on her file for review.
While the man lost his rank of sergeant, Sandy Springs said he will be eligible to test for promotion in September.
This story was provided by WABE media partner Appen Media.
