Wednesday, November 7, 2001

Atlanta police officer arrested in gun incident By JOHN MUNFORD jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com An Atlanta police officer has been arrested on aggravated assault charges for sticking a gun in a woman's mouth at her north Fayette County residence, police said. Sinclair Melvin Rivers, 57, also was charged with two counts of simple battery for slamming the victim's head in a door, which required treatment at a hospital, according to warrants filed for his arrest. Each incident occurred on a separate date, going back to April of last year. Rivers is a patrol officer with the APD and has been with the department since 1980. He has been taken off patrol and assigned administrative duties, and an APD investigation has begun, according to APD spokesman Officer John Quigley. Rivers is out on bond, but he is forbidden from having any contact with the victim or her family members. Rivers was arrested after a magistrate court judge approved the warrants; the matter was not investigated by any local law enforcement agency. Private citizens are allowed to petition the magistrate court for arrest warrants under certain circumstances. What do you think of this story? Click here to send a message to the editor. Back to the News Home Page| Back to the top of the page