Tag: MISCONDUCT
Cop fired after $500 goes missing from homicide victim’s wallet
An Atlanta police officer has been axed for allegedly mishandling $500 in cash from a homicide victim’s wallet, authorities said.
Officer Keisha Richburg’s body cam footage released by the Atlanta Police Department shows the alleged incident unfolding on June 19th at the scene of a shooting in Marietta Road near the Inman Rail Yard.
The footage shows EMT Kevin Geter tucking the money inside of the wallet of the 29-year-old victim, Jamel Harris, then handing it off to Richburg.
When she handles the wallet in her squad car, the cash cannot be seen in the slot that Geter had allegedly placed the money inside, the video shows.
When “Officer Richburg transfers the victim’s wallet from her right hand to her left hand; it is readily apparent the money is no longer tucked inside the wallet,” a police report on the incident reads.
Geter confirmed to internal affairs investigators that he gave Richburg the wallet with cash inside, according to 11Alive.
“I’m about 90% sure it was money…cause it was – it was kinda like a – you know, like money would be folded in half. Um, and I can’t imagine it being anything else,” he said.
Later, the video shows Richburg handing off the empty wallet to a homicide-unit sergeant at Grady Memorial Hospital.
Harris, who suffered from a gunshot wound to the head later died from his injuries at the hospital. An-Nur Green, 43, was arrested for fatally shooting Harris over of an argument, police said.
“Officer integrity goes to the heart of what we do here every single day,” Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields said in a statement. “It’s extremely disappointing to see the victim of a fatal shooting be victimized twice by the actions of one of our officers.”
An Atlanta Police department spokesperson told The Post that Richburg did not properly account for the money according to the department’s policies and procedures. An administrative investigation was not able to determine what happened to the cash.
Shields fired Richburg on Monday.
A regional director for the International Brotherhood of Police Officers told NBC Newsthat the department hasn’t “proven that she had the money or took the money.”
Richburg is disputing the department’s claim and attempting to appeal her termination.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/07/11/cop-fired-after-500-goes-missing-from-homicide-victims-wallet/
Photo Credit: Atlanta Police Department