FULTON COUNTY, Ga — A veteran Alpharetta police captain has been suspended for two days without pay and demoted to officer rank after city officials said they uncovered he ordered a subordinate picking up stranded drivers during one of this winter’s snow storms, to chauffeur his girlfriend.
City Administrator James Drinkard told Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik the revelations came during an investigation into Robert Wessel’s relationship with the woman.
Drinkard said Wessel was an adjunct professor at Reinhardt University’s police academy and the woman was a student.
“It was revealed that our officer had allegedly been having a personal relationship with one of the students in the academy and Reinhardt was investigating that,” he said. “Our officer had withheld information from Reinhardt, and actually colluded with the student to hide the nature of their relationship.”
Drinkard said the relationship in and of itself was not a violation of city policy, but allegations that Wessel lied during the course of investigation did violate city rules.
Drinkard, who also serves as the city’s director of human resources, said the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety launched an internal affairs investigation that uncovered the more serious breach.
“Officer Wessel, who was at that time a police captain, took one of our four-wheel drive units off-line to go to his residence, pick the young lady up, this student, and bring her to police headquarters, where she remained unbeknownst to the rest of the department, in his office, for the duration of the event,” Drinkard said.
Drinkard said he and the police chief considered firing Wessel for his actions, but decided to demote him instead because of his spotless record dating back to 1999.
“His lack of judgment and the decisions he made over the course of these situations, was certainly indicative of somebody who should not be in a command position or leadership role,” Drinkard said.
When reached by phone Wednesday, Wessel told Petchenik he had no comment on the department’s decision. Channel 2 Action News is not naming the student.
According to the internal affairs report Petchenik obtained Wednesday afternoon, Wessel told investigators his relationship with the woman commenced after she was finished taking his class.
“He felt that policy (against instructor/student relationships) meant while he was actually instructing the class—not after he was done with the block of instruction for the course,” the report said.
Drinkard said by law, the city will turn over the findings of its investigation to the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council for review, and it’s possible Wessel could be suspended or have his certification revoked.
A call to Reinhardt University for comment was not returned as of Wednesday afternoon.
WSBTV
