A DeKalb County police sergeant being investigated for allegedly interfering with a rape case has come under scrutiny by the state’s police licensing organization.
The Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council said it has begun an investigation into the possibility of misconduct by Sgt. Eric Adkison.
Adkison, a 13-year veteran with the DeKalb County police, has already been placed on restrictive duty because of allegations he persuaded the victim of a rape not to press charges, according to DeKalb police.
Charges have not been filed against the rape suspect, but the victim contends Adkison and the suspect knew one another through a motorcycle club.
The DeKalb District Attorney’s office is probing the case, and POST Executive Director Ken Vance said his organization is following the county’s lead.
“We’ve opened the case, but we’re going to hold off until we see what DeKalb County does,” Vance told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
While the District Attorney’s office could levy criminal charges against Adkison, a POST investigation would determine whether he would continue to be allowed to work in law enforcement in Georgia.
“We are gathering information in anticipation” of the DA’s findings, Vance said.
A look into Adkison’s history with the DeKalb Police Department shows he is no stranger to professional scrutiny.
According to personnel records obtained by Channel 2 Action News, a lengthy 2010 investigation revolved around allegations that he bilked an apartment complex for more than $6,000 while working an off-duty job there and managing the schedule of other officers working there with him.
While no criminal charges were filed, internal affairs investigators also looked at whether he actually worked the more than several dozen days he scheduled for himself at the apartment complex, or if he skimmed money from fellow officers he was supposed to manage.
Police determined the accusations to be unfounded and more a result of shoddy book-keeping by the police sergeant and apartment complex management.
Still, Adkison was reprimanded for failing to follow department policies for off-duty jobs and for using department resources to arrange and invoice the work.
Hired in June 1999, Adkison received a number of commendations as well as a promotion in 2007 from detective with the major crimes unit to sergeant. But he continued to be disciplined for a series of infractions.
When he was a detective in 2004, a citizen filed a complaint against him for claiming her driver’s license was fake and confiscating it without doing a check against a state ID database, records show. Adkison was reprimanded when the license was found to be legitimate.
In 2006, records show, he received a written reprimand for selling alcohol at a party he sponsored for his bike club, despite expressly being told not to do so because of departmental policies prohibiting sworn officers from distributing liquor for money.
Records show that in 2007, Adkison was suspended for missing a call for help from fellow officers involved in a fight within two miles of his location, and twice failed to respond to reports of shootings.
About the Author
