Fayetteville policeman resigns after arrest for DUI in Peachtree City; disciplined for alleged assault from bar dispute in March

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

A Fayetteville police officer who is under investigation for an alleged assault in the city that stemmed from a fracas at a Peachtree City bar in March has resigned following his arrest early Thursday morning in Peachtree City for driving under the influence of alcohol, police said.

Jason E. Edens, 28, of Sharpsburg, resigned later Thursday, according to Fayetteville Police Chief Johnny Roberts.

Edens was arrested at 3:20 a.m. after an officer pulled his 2000 Ford Ranger over at the intersection of Ga. highways 54 and 74 to investigate a possible noise violation, according to a police report. Edens took a breath test that indicated his blood alcohol was .138 grams, the report stated, well above the legal limit of .08 grams.

Edens was off-duty at the time, Roberts said.

"It is truly unfortunate because he was an outstanding police officer," Roberts said, noting that police officers must be "held to a higher standard than the general public."

Edens was the city's primary K-9 officer, Roberts noted.

Prior to accepting Edens' resignation, the officer was placed on administrative leave as an internal investigation into the matter began, Roberts said.

According to the Peachtree City police report on the incident, Edens admitted to drinking alcohol prior to the traffic stop.

Roberts also confirmed that he reprimanded Edens for the alleged assault that occurred March 13 at a Fayetteville residence. Edens was forced to forfeit two weeks of annual leave time and demoted to police officer II from police officer III, which reduced his pay, Roberts said. Edens was also required to submit to drug and alcohol tests when requested, attend counseling sessions and he was put on a 12-month probationary period that kept him from being eligible for promotion, Roberts said.

The alleged assault case was investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which will forward its report to the district attorney's office, said Joe B. Jackson Jr., the special agent in charge of the GBI's Greenville office. The investigation is complete but must be transferred to written format, Jackson said.

Roberts said the GBI was called in to investigate the allegations "since it involved one of our officers."

"We're not going to look into that we're going to get an independent party to look into that," Roberts said.

The punishment for Edens was based on what he has been told about the GBI's investigation, Roberts said.

"I felt like I had enough from what I know regarding it and verbal confirmation from the GBI," the chief said.

According to a police report, the victim in the case told Peachtree City police that he did not want to prosecute Edens for allegedly head-butting him during an altercation at the Hangar 74 bar March 13. The victim admitted that he sought out Edens in Fayetteville after the bar incident in order to confront him, and the two got into a "physical altercation," according to the Peachtree City report.

After that altercation, the victim said he left the scene in his vehicle and Edens followed him to the Fayetteville Police Department, the report said.