Officials said a county maintenance worker who was assigned to work at the jail and who was at the party and took part of the plan has been “laid off,” said Assistant County Manager Blaine Williams.
Sgt. John Blalock and deputies Chris Parton, Brandy Burt and April Barber and county maintenance worker Justin Cleveland were at the party at Barber’s home with Angelica Johnson, a former inmate who is the girlfriend of current inmate Steven Boyd, according to a press release from the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office and Chief Deputy Tom Caldwell.
The group came up with a plan to circulate pictures in an effort to humiliate Boyd.
The pictures were of Cleveland “hugging and kissing” Johnson, Caldwell said. They were fully clothed, he said.
Alcohol was served at the party and as part of her probation, Johnson is not supposed to consume alcohol.
“Being there was a probationer there and they were helping her violate her probation, it was inappropriate,” Caldwell said.
A supervisor saw Cleveland show the pictures to Boyd at the jail and alerted Maj. Bob Sapp, the jail administrator, Caldwell said.
An internal investigation began on May 23, according to the news release.
Blalock and Barber resigned this week. Blalock had been employed with the sheriff’s office since Sept. 1, 2001, and Barber had been employed with the sheriff’s office since Dec. 28, 2005.
Parton and Burt will be suspended for three days without pay.
Those suspensions are expected to begin and end in the next few days, Caldwell said.
Also during the internal investigation, it was discovered that Blalock and Burt were in an inappropriate relationship, a violation of department policy.
It was also revealed that Barber was living with Cleveland and had not “notified any of their supervisors of these events.
Cleveland was hired by the county to do maintenance at the jail a year ago, Williams said.
He did not go through a background check because he was a certified correctional officer and had those checks already.
“Normally we perform a battery of checks,” Williams said.
When asked why the deputies and Cleveland planned the incident, Caldwell said he didn’t know.
“Why he (Blalock) cared enough to risk a 10-year career, I don’t know,” Caldwell said. “He wasn’t completely forthcoming in the investigation.”
This was a matter with officers that got way out of hand...and the things were handled how they , (the department) saw fit. It really don't matter what we say....what they say goes.
My dad worked and retired from the city and county police department. While I was proud of the job and decision he made, I was always scared for him because of all the dangers that it involved.
Today the police have to deal with more violence and crimes that my dad did not have to deal with..but none the less it is a more dangerous job and you can never tell about situations. I tell ya...I myself would NEVER put my life on the line everyday like the police do. I'm just being honest!
Not everybody is perfect for this job....and while those that try and make a difference....can also make bad decisions as well. You break the law....sooner or later you get caught and that is how it works for ANYBODY....we might not agree with the out come...but something will be done.
I have ran into some officers who I think used their position to do and control things because they wore the badge. Even though I was angry with the outcome.... I do not look at the police as bad people. Some are people who made bad choices. As an officer, the spot light is on them for everything they do. Which at times can be hard.....because let's face it....when off duty...they are still to uphold the law....the partying and stuff is almost non-existent in their life....for it can bring consequence's like these officer's are facing. Now the messing around between the officers...bad conduct... yes, but they are not the only ones who is doing this on their job....they just got caught and it affects their jobs. It does not mean they are not good at their job.
While this is a sad story...they are still human....and as humans we all make mistakes....some we can correct and some we can't or get do over's. Then some bad choices have consequence's that follow you long after it is over. Let's just hope that these people will now be able to move on with their life and learned from the mistakes they made.
None of this by no means changed my faith in the police because, they will be the first one's I call if I need them !
Probably made someone upset with my post....oh well...can't please everyone......it's just my thought's and as my name say's...... MYWORDS !
Here's something to chew on. This really shows the mentality of our president at this time.
"Michelle and the kids are wonderful in that if I said, 'You know, guys, I want to do something different,' they'd be fine. They're not invested in daddy being president or my husband being president. But they do believe in what we're doing," Obama told NBC "Today Show" host Ann Curry in an interview that aired Tuesday.
And the president revealed that even he sometimes feels like giving up.
The Sheriff's Department handled this quickly and decisively according to policy and law.
cantfixstupid obviously mistook the comments as literal. Translation for cantfixstupid (You thought coosatown's comments were serious. HINT: They are NOT serious. They were being sarcastic.)
OKAY, here goes: these are good people from good families. They just made a little mistake and won't do it again. And you people shouldn't talk bad about them because it is embarrassing to their families and friends. And you don't know the whole story, But I do. Pretty good, huh?
How can you say that these are good people when Blalock and Cleavland are both in relationships with other people besides their wives!! Now that is what I call "good" people!! When you say they come from good families, I assume you are talking about their parents because they obviously don't think their own family (wives and kids) were good enough to be faithful to them!!
You better be careful what you post on here because those good people were told not to discuss the facts of this investigation. So if you know what happened you are one of them or one of the good people is in direct violations of the orders of the investigation!!