None — Channel 2 Action News has obtained the results of an internal investigation into a state probation officer's claim that she was beaten by a fellow corrections employee as a form of retaliation.
The Georgia Department of Corrections said its investigation does not back up probation officer Jamie Moody's claim that she was a victim of excessive force during a training exercise.
In a statement, a representative for the Georgia Department of Corrections wrote, "The Department of Corrections Internal Investigations Unit has completed its investigation of the complaint made by Probation Officer Jamie Moody. The complaint alleged that excessive force was used by a trainer in a Probation Officer Safety Training course as a form of retaliation against Probation Officer Moody. The Department's finding is that there is insufficient evidence to support P.O. Moody's allegations in this matter."
Moody's lawyer, Keith Martin, said the news hurts his client as bad as any bruise she sustained.
"She feels betrayed by her employer, an employer she's been loyal to for 10 years," said Martin. Martin told Channel 2 on Wednesday that his client is not backing down from her claims a fellow employee beat her because she blew the whistle on a friend of his.
Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne first reported on the matter in December after he got his hands on an internal memo from Moody's supervisor, which seems to corroborate Moody's story. "This officer does state that the bruising is substantial and does seem to be in excess compared to what myself and other Officers experienced," the memo stated.
At that time, the DOC was investigating the complaint that Moody filed concerning an incident that occurred a few days before when Moody attended a mandatory Probation Officer Safety Training Course at Corrections Headquarters in Carroll County. Martin told Channel 2 at the time, "She was attacked as a part of the training protocol by three people, but a fourth arrived and beat her with some type of stick-type weapon, leaving severe bruises."
Martin showed Channel 2 pictures of the bruises to back up his client's account. The complaint also alleged the same trainer also e-mailed a picture of Moody after she had been pepper-sprayed in the training course to another officer in the same office where Moody works.
Moody believes the beating was an act of retaliation for complaining several months ago of preferential treatment given to another female probation officer. Moody alleges that the trainer, who is a friend of the officer Moody reported, hit her hard with a stick as three other trainers held her.
The Department of Corrections stated that the routine exercise was something more than 900 sworn probation staff completed as part of the mandatory training. "One particular scenario includes placing the Probation Officer under physical stress. In this particular scenario, the officer is given an air soft pistol and holster and requested to assume a prone position. Three instructors act as ‘attackers' who physically 'beat' the officer. The purpose of this drill is to provide training to the Probation Officer utilizing physical stress allowing the officer to gain a defensive position and utilize necessary use of force measures under a physical and stressful assault. Practice batons and safety equipment are used by instructors during the scenario," the representative wrote.
Other officers who underwent the training course did not report such use of excessive force. The Georgia DOC said, "The overwhelming majority of the Probation Officers who attended the training gave positive feedback, stating that while the training was intensive and physically demanding, they felt better prepared to conduct their day-to-day duties to include serving warrants and making arrests of offenders. During the course of the training, a small number of both male and female officers reported minor injuries to include bruising, but none made formal complaints that suggested the training was excessive."
Moody's allegation of the retaliatory beating is supported by the memo authored by Moody's superior: "It should also be noted that (the female officer Moody reported) made the following statement in conversation, 'I told David to beat her (expletive).' This officer is unaware if she was serious or kidding but that was an exact statement."
On Wednesday afternoon, Martin faxed a letter to Richard Milam, District Attorney of Towaliga Judicial Circuit, where the incident occurred. "We're going to ask Mr. Milam to take a look at this case and to prosecute it," said Martin.
WSBTV
