The director of the DeKalb County police academy, hoping to get close to the New England Patriots players in town for the Super Bowl in late January, donned his uniform even though he was off duty and made his way to a restricted area near their hotel, according to results of an internal investigation.
Channel 2 Action News reported that Captain Curtis Williams inappropriately took advantage of his position as an officer to film Patriots team members getting off buses and entering the Hyatt Regency downtown Jan. 27. Following an investigation into his actions by the DeKalb County Police Department, he has since been transferred to a different division.
“The actions of Captain Williams did not meet the standards of the DeKalb County Police Department. His actions violated department policy and procedures,” Chief James Conroy said in a statement.
The investigation found that Williams, who is a Patriots fan, was in uniform when he filmed Patriots team members. A city of Atlanta employee doing planning work during Super Bowl week alerted the police department to Williams’ presence at the hotel.
“Captain Williams stated although he was off duty and not assigned to a special detail, he wore his uniform because he believed the uniformed appearance would increase his chances of meeting players and coaches,” the report stated.
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He drove to the hotel in his police car with his fiancé and was able to get into an area blocked off to the public. Williams can be seen on video taken by a TV station from Boston of the Patriots arriving.
He also took photos of cars in the hotel parking deck with signs that said “reserved for Tom Brady,” according to the report.
Williams was not assigned to any Super Bowl duties or issued credentials for any restricted areas.
Several days after the Super Bowl, the internal investigation found the captain had violated the department policy manual since he privately benefited from his position, allowed an unauthorized civilian to ride in his cruiser and committed generally unbecoming conduct.
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