A DeKalb County police sergeant has resigned in the wake of an investigation into overtime abuses in the animal control office, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Timothy Medlin is the third person to quit since the start of the probe nearly one year ago, according to the news station.
DeKalb police opened an internal investigation that initially focused on senior animal control officer Kevin Hearst after Channel 2 found he routinely accepted payments from outside agencies in addition to his full-time county salary, commonly referred to as double dipping.
However, the probe did not stop there. Along the way, Hearst and his boss resigned.
The investigation found Medlin neglected his duty and “approved inflated and inaccurate overtime sheets,” including overtime when Hearst was working jobs in other states.
Hearst is accused of five charges of misconduct, including heavily inflated overtime pay. A report specifically cites Hearst’s failure to use his leave time while working outside jobs. Investigators determined he failed to sign in and acknowledge more than 200 items awaiting his attention. Some of the items had been sitting at the office since 2013.
Channel 2 reported Hearst was paid $75 an hour by the Law Enforcement Training Institute as an instructor while allegedly collecting his county salary. His W-2 forms showed he made between $14,000 and $17,000 from the institute. He also reportedly made $6,300 from the U.S. Humane Society while also being paid by DeKalb.
In a statement to Channel 2, DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond’s office said: “The county will cooperate with any further investigation other agencies may deem appropriate. DeKalb County takes seriously any employee acts that violate the public trust and our fiduciary responsibility.”
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