Canton Police Chief Bob Merchant accused the department's spokeswoman of carrying on a sexual relationship with a recently retired Sandy Springs Police captain and using funds from the agency's Explorers program to purchase a $6,000 customized golf cart for the man's disabled son in an internal memo obtained by Fox 5 Atlanta.
Canton Police Sgt. Stacy Bailey is the subject of a GBI criminal investigation, officials with both agencies told Canton-Sixes Patch on Wednesday.
So is Sandy Springs Police Capt. Scott Jamison, according to the Fox 5 Atlanta news report. Jamison took a voluntary retirement on July 16, Sandy Springs public information officer Steve Rose told Sandy Springs Patch.
Two days later, Merchant asked the GBI to "look into an expense from the ... Explorers fund," said Kim Williams, a special agent in the GBI's Cleveland, GA, office, which covers Cherokee County.
The Explorers program exposes teenagers to careers in law enforcement. Merchant said information supplied to him from "an individual involved in the matter," prompted him to request the GBI investigation.
"The information was turned over to them." he added.
[The SSPD also runs an Exlporers program for teens.]
Williams said her office has contacted the Cherokee County District Attorney's Office to "make them aware of the investigation" and will meet with officials in the DA's Office "when we conclude our investigation."
Earlier this week, the Cherokee Tribune reported that a Sandy Springs Police captain filed a report with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, alleging that Bailey made harassing phone calls to him after he ended their year-long affair in June.
Before joining Sandy Springs PD when the department was formed in 2006, Jamison was a lieutenant with Fulton County Police, Rose said. He was a commander on the North Metro SWAT team until last December.
Bailey is one of the key figures behind a new child safety program that launched two months after the brutal murder of 7-year-old Jorelys Rivera. She helped launch Canton-Cherokee radKIDS to teach children how to escape dangerous situations.
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