Morris Brown President Suspends Officers

The president of Morris Brown College suspended two officers and forbid anyone in his public safety department from working off-duty jobs on Friday.

The move came after Channel 2 Action News questioned the credentials of several officers and learned the college's Police Department is under state investigation, accused of employing officers just to work off-duty jobs.

Morris Brown President Stanley Pritchett Sr. spoke to Channel 2 investigative reporter Jodie Fleischer about the investigation.

Pritchett said effective immediately there would only be three officers wearing Morris Brown uniforms on staff and they would only patrol the school campus.

Local Police Dept. Under Investigation Local Police Dept. Under Investigation (Pt. 2) Local Police Dept. Under Investigation (Pt. 3) Morris Brown President Suspends Campus Officers

Pritchett said he also planned to investigate if his college Police Department served as a front for a private security firm, and if some of the employees were impersonating officers.

“We’re appalled at what we are seeing and we’re doing something about it in a very expeditious manner,” Pritchett said. “We are disappointed with the evidence and the facts that we are uncovering as we move forward.”

Pritchett told Fleischer he planned to cooperate with state investigators from the GBI and Georgia’s Peace Officer Standards and Training Council. “If I have to take something to our district attorney, with respect to criminal charges, I’ll be glad to do that because we want to do the right thing,” added Pritchett.

The Morris Brown College campus only spans about three blocks and enrollment has dwindled to just 63 students. But according to Georgia’s Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Council, the campus Police Department employed 27 certified police officers. Fleischer found several more working at the school's police headquarters who are not on that list.

Morris Brown ID IM An identification card, with certification number, held by at least two public safety officers who were not certified according to POST.

POST launched an investigation, and Director Ken Vance said the agency hopes to seek a cease and desist order against the school’s Police Department.

It isn't unusual for officers to work off-duty jobs to supplement their police income. But in most departments, they spend more time working on-duty, protecting the public.

POST investigative documents show the school only requires an officer work 16 hours each month to remain on the police roster. That makes them eligible to work lucrative off-duty security jobs.

Channel 2 obtained internal e-mails from Cobb County police confirming an investigation into two Morris Brown police officers caught working an off-duty job in Smyrna.

POST investigators are also taking a serious look at three fake identification cards seized while questioning Morris Brown Police Chief Jabir Bashir. They were signed by the current assistant chief, Daymond Langford, before he was demoted from the chief’s job. The cards call his employees "duly sworn police officers" authorized to perform law enforcement duties. But they are not POST certified.

Fleischer found many of the officers who are properly certified have troubling records also. Of the 27 on the roster, POST has publicly reprimanded, placed on probation, or otherwise investigated 17 of them.

On Monday, Fleischer found the doors locked and Public Safety Officer Henry Johnson refused to open them.

Investigators from Georgia’s Department of Public Safety also visited the Morris Brown Police Department to revoke the blue light permits from all of its unmarked vehicles.