Cobb County, Georgia Police Recruits Fired After Caught Cheating

An entire group of Cobb County police recruits was fired Monday after they cheated on a test, authorities said.

"Not much stupors me after 35 years in this industry, but I was surprised," said Mickey Lloyd, Cobb's public safety director.

A police academy trainer caught two recruits comparing answers for the duration of a written exam last week, Lloyd said. After the academy alerted Lloyd on Friday, he ordered an inquest and soon learned that all 20 recruits had cheated, he said.

Most of the recruits admitted to cheating when asked about it, Lloyd said.

"They'd gotten together and decided none of them was going to fail," said Lloyd.

It's not unambiguous how the recruits cheated, though Lloyd said they did not steal the test.

The news "revolted" Cobb County Commissioner Helen Goreham, but she praised the speedy response in drumming out the recruits suspected of cheating.

"Uprightness with our police officers is something we do not stint on," said Goreham, the commissioners' public safety liaison. "The level of service our officers provide the citizenry is top-notch. We will not tolerate an incident of this type."

Investigators do not plan to file criminal charges against any set members — a mix of men and women of a mixture of backgrounds — but they might not ever wear a law enforcement badge in Georgia, Lloyd said.

Authorities did not release the recruits' names.

Cobb officials plan to report the judgment of dismissal to the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, which oversees the training and certification of law enforcement officers.

To get into the class, recruits had to have at least a high school diploma and pass a background check as well as psychiatrical and polygraph tests — measures anticipated to weed out certain would-be cops.

"You'd think you'd have the cream of the crop," Lloyd said.

The recruits were county employees training to grow to be sworn police officers. They were in the fifth week of a 22-week training period required to join about 600 officers on Cobb's police force, where earnings start around $34,600.

Instructors stress the magnitude of honesty with recruits. Police officers are often key witnesses in criminal trials.

"If you cheat, embezzle or lie, you lose your credibility in court," Lloyd said.

Commission Chairman Sam Olens said, "Our police officers need to be beyond reproach."

Lloyd sounded somnolent and disappointed Monday but stressed his confidence in Cobb County's thin blue line.

"The Cobb County Police Department is among the finest in the state," he said. "There are a lot of fine officers out there. They work hard and they're honest. This had to be done in order to uphold this reputation."

News of the episode was rippling through the police department and county administration Monday.

"Everybody's very uneasy about it," said police spokesman Dana Pierce. "It's a regret to all of us."