Friday, September 22, 2000
Friday, September 22, 2000 |
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Solicitor: Officer 'probably' furnished alcohol to teen By
JOHN MUNFORD Peachtree City police officer "probably" violated one or more state laws by furnishing alcohol to a 19-year-old girl or allowing her to drink alcohol in his presence, Fayette County Solicitor General Steve Harris has ruled. Harris said two witnesses indicated Cpl. Terry Blackburn furnished the alcohol to a 19-year-old girl while he was off-duty at the Chili's restaurant in Peachtree City on July 25. The other officer who was present at the time, Cpl. Jay Hughes, was cleared of any wrongdoing by Harris. Harris wrote a memo to Peachtree City Police Chief Jim Murray outlining his opinion of the case, which was investigated by the Police Department. "The evidence does suggest criminal conduct on behalf of Cpl. Terry Blackburn," Harris wrote in the memo. "The level of intoxication of Cpl. Blackburn at the time offers no basis for a defense to any action." The memo states one or more of the following laws were broken by Blackburn: Furnishing an alcoholic beverage to an intoxicated person; Knowingly and directly furnishing and alcoholic beverage to a person under 21 years of age; and Aiding and abetting a person under 21 years of age to knowingly possess an alcoholic beverage. Murray could not be reached for comment by press time Thursday afternoon. Harris also said Friday that he cannot prosecute Blackburn since neither of two witnesses is willing to swear out an affidavit about the incident. That also means the Police Department can't file charges on the matter, either, Harris wrote. The incident was originally reported by a Chili's employee. The case file from the police investigation was submitted to Harris for a ruling on the matter. In his memo, Harris said the police department's investigation "reflects a thoroughly investigated incident and literally left no stone unturned."
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