news-record.com

GREENSBORO — Two officers on paid leave after being accused of sexually assaulting a female officer in December are appealing the police chief’s recommendation to fire them.

The city announced Friday that the police department recommended firing Sgt. A.S. Wallace and Officer J.O. LeGrand after an internal investigation.

A third officer, C.S. Stevens, remains on administrative leave but has already received any discipline coming to him, said City Manager Mitchell Johnson.

Police employees have five days to respond to discipline by accepting the recommended punishment, appealing to the police chief or requesting an internal hearing.

Wallace and LeGrand have decided to request a hearing, said Bill Hill, the attorney for the Greensboro Police Officers Association who represents the three officers.

Hill said the city’s announcement was inappropriate because Wallace and LeGrand have not been terminated and still have appeals ahead of them.

“There are a lot of employees there walking around who have been recommended to be terminated,” Hill said. “In my experience, their departmental hearings are extremely fair, and more than 50 percent of the time the recommendation changes.”

The three officers have been on paid leave since Dec. 18, after a female officer reported that she had been sexually assaulted after meeting the three officers near Four Seasons Town Centre.

In May, District Attorney Doug Henderson declined to prosecute any of the officers, citing a lack of evidence.

After the decision not to prosecute, the police department’s professional standards division continued an administrative investigation into whether any officers violated the department’s rules.

Johnson said the outcome shows that the police department’s process for investigating and disciplining officers works, “even if the community is crying for someone’s head.”

“I feel the department took the time they needed to do a thorough investigation,” Johnson said. “When you’re dealing with someone’s career, you need to take the time to be very thorough.”

Police Chief Tim Bellamy said he could not discuss any of the findings of the administrative investigation because they are part of the officers’ confidential personnel records. The department’s process worked as it should, he said.

“We did our investigation, and we came to our conclusions,” Bellamy said. “We’re still doing our job.”

City Council members have pressured the police department over the issue, regularly requesting to know when the case would be resolved.

“I am very pleased with the outcome, and I think the police department has made a major step in the right direction,” said Councilwoman Trudy Wade.

Councilwoman Mary Rakestraw, who said she has dogged the police department to make sure information about this is released to the public, said she was happy the issue was not swept under the rug.

“This will help the relationship between the public and the police department,” she said. “They will feel more confident in their police department when they see they are willing to discipline their own.”

Staff writer Amanda Lehmert contributed to this story.

Contact Sonja Elmquist at 373-7090 or sonja. elmquist@news-record.com