By Karen Middleton
Investigators with the Alabama Attorney General’s Office who are looking into an alleged drunk driving ticket-fixing attempt by an Athens Police supervisor — reportedly Capt. Tracy Harrison — have made a second trip to Athens to review municipal and circuit court records of old traffic cases, Mayor Dan Williams said.
“I think what they’re looking for is money,” Williams said. “If they found that, it would be illegal.”
Williams is the first to suggest that the Attorney General’s office investigation might involve allegations of payoffs.
A local television station on Thursday publicly identified the supervisor under investigation as Harrison. Other sources have privately named Harrison. The mayor would say only that the supervisor under investigation is a police captain. The department’s only captains are Harrison and Marty Bruce.
When called by The News Courier Thursday evening and asked if he is the captain under investigation, Bruce said “No” and then said a television station had identified the supervisor.
Harrison, who is currently on family leave, did not return a telephone call for comment.
Sources have said a police supervisor tried to get a June 7 DUI ticket issued to William Hyatt Jeffers, 43, of Killen dropped before it was reported to the Department of Public Safety or sworn to before a Municipal Court magistrate. Officer Jason Threet, who is not under investigation, arrested Jeffers, whose blood-alcohol content measured twice the legal limit of .08 percent. Jeffers trial has since been scheduled for 1 p.m. Oct. 15 in Municipal Court, according to court records. His attorney is Dan Totten, court records show.
“They’ve reviewed all the cases and they’ve told the chief (Wayne Harper) that they’ll give him the report very soon,” Williams said. “I feel if they were going to get somebody he would have been got by now.”
Williams said if the Attorney General’s report shows a crime has been committed, the matter would be turned over to the District Attorney’s Office.
“We’ll accept what we have to do,” the mayor said. “I wish they would go ahead and issue the report. We’re not talking about an internal investigation but a personnel change. The person is entitled to go through due process.”
If the supervisor tried to fix the DUI ticket, the mayor said, “That’s about as bad as it can get.”
