A veteran investigator in the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office resigned after sharing confidential case information with multiple girlfriends, authorities said.
Mike Christian, a former Forsyth deputy, resigned Oct. 27 amid an Internal Affairs investigation after one of his girlfriends reported him to the sheriff’s office. According to Channel 2 Action News, Christian sent the women crime scene photos, videos and sensitive personal information about people involved in his cases.
Christian investigated several high-profile cases, including the death of Tamla Horsford, a 40-year-old mother of five who died at a party in 2018. One of the women involved with Christian said he sent her a photo of Horsford’s body, the news station reported.
The GBI reopened Horsford’s case after her death was initially ruled an accident by investigators in the Forsyth Sheriff’s Office, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. One of those investigators was Christian, who resigned in October before the internal investigation was completed, a department spokeswoman confirmed.
In addition to sharing sensitive evidence and information, the investigation found that Christian spent hours texting and talking with the women while on duty, Channel 2 reported. The sheriff’s office determined he had neglected his duty and violated his oath of office.
In a statement, Christian told the news station, in part: “I am far from a perfect human. I chose to end a long-term extramarital relationship abruptly. This person, out of anger and hurt, chose to go to Sheriff (Ron) Freeman with a list of alleged misconduct on my part.
“The (internal) investigation lacks my side of the story and it makes me out to be something I am not.”
A third-party law enforcement expert said the former deputy could face charges. According to Brent Brown, chairman and CEO of security consulting firm Chesley Brown, Christian’s former casework also should be scrutinized for mistakes.
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