Glynn County Police Chief Disciplines Officer After Body Cavity Examination Of Suspected Shoplifter

Glynn County, Georgia – Several Glynn County Police Department employees were disciplined in connection with searching for drugs in the body cavity of a suspected shoplifter in February. The chief of public security said they had not followed procedures.

The district attorney’s office found the officers involved not guilty of any criminal act, but they were disciplined, police officials said.

Police said the shoplifter told law enforcement he had large amounts of methamphetamine “in his body” after being stopped on Interstate 95.

A spokesman for the Glynn County Police Department said drug paraphernalia was found inside the vehicle. Her suspect showed signs of “stress” and “compulsion,” and officers at the scene were concerned about her health and determined to immediately remove the drugs she allegedly hid from her body cavity. bottom.

According to Brunswick NewsAccording to an internal investigation report, a female police officer performed two internal cavity searches to remove 14 grams of the stimulant drug from the woman’s genitalia, but no drugs were found, and the woman was taken to a hospital before being sent to prison. Sent.

Police authority policy is that such searches should only be conducted by doctors with written permission from the duty commander when a search warrant is issued, and that searches should not be attended by people of the same sex alone. there is

It all started with a shoplifting incident at an academy sports store. Glynn County Police said the woman was in the passenger seat of one of the two vehicles that drove off with the stolen goods.

A GBI spokesperson said Glynn County interim police chief O’Neill Jackson contacted him about the case, but the GBI did not report internal investigations to other law enforcement agencies unless something criminal was involved. answered that they would not.

According to Brunswick News, Mr Jackson and another officer received written reprimands and a female police officer who conducted the search under Mr Jackson’s supervision and under the direction of another officer received verbal reprimands.

News4JAX Crime Safety Analyst Leiksha Barton said police appeared to have acted quickly on this important issue but could still be exposed to civil lawsuits.