Four years ago, Terry Belvin hit and killed two men on a Lamar County road with his patrol car while going 96 mph.
Belvin, then a Barnesville police officer, resigned from his job during the investigation, according to Channel 2 Action News. The victims’ families were also told Belvin gave up his Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training certification.
But Belvin is getting a second chance.
He was recently hired as a deputy with the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office, working in the same county where his victims’ families live.
“I was just disgusted,” Danita Taylor told Channel 2. “More so than that, I was just shocked.”
Taylor's son, Justin Sullivan, and his friend, Quentin Byrd, were killed crossing the street in May 2014 just after 1 a.m. when Belvin's patrol car slammed into them on Ga. 7 near Grove Street in Barnesville. The city is roughly an hour south of Atlanta.
The revelation has left Sullivan’s family riled.
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
Credit: Channel 2 Action News
“(Belvin) was dangerous,” Taylor said. “He was reckless. He was driving too fast.”
The case went to a grand jury, who decided not to indict the officer, Channel 2 reported.
Ten years ago, Belvin also was charged with a DUI, Channel 2 reported. But Spalding County Sheriff Darrell Dix said he wasn’t aware of that charge when Belvin was hired.
On top of that, Dix also told the news station that Belvin’s POST certification was intact and that his record was clean — all were factors likely contributing to Belvin’s hire.
Taylor said she has asked Dix to rethink his decision, accusing him of disregarding the public’s safety: “You should be ashamed.”
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