District Attorney Greg Edwards: No charges against ADDU officer

ALBANY — Dougherty County District Attorney Greg Edwards announced Wednesday that his office will not pursue criminal charges against Albany-Dougherty Drug Unit officer Jamie Sutton for his actions during a recent traffic stop that left suspect Llewellyn Glover injured.

On April 25, Sutton pulled Glover over on the 500 block of West Lincoln Avenue for a brake light infraction. The incident quickly escalated into a physical altercation between the two men after Sutton accused Glover of possessing marijuana and attempting to eat the evidence.

Glover has maintained that he had no marijuana, and only a marijuana grinder was found at the scene, according to the original police report.

Witnesses at the scene posted video of the incident on Facebook, and shortly thereafter Sutton was placed on administrative leave while an Internal Affairs investigation was conducted.

According to reports, Glover received injuries to his head, hand and leg after Sutton “body slammed” Glover to the ground and placed him in a choke hold, “a deadly force technique.” Glover has since obtained legal representation, the Law Office of Julius Collins, who told The Albany herald, “We are preparing multiple lawsuits against the city, the Albany Police Department, the Albany-Dougherty Drug Unit, the Dougherty County District Attorney’s Office and officer Sutton himself.”

On June 2, after the Internal Affairs investigation was completed, APD Chief Michael Persley recommended termination of Sutton’s employment with the Albany Police Department, citing “excessive force, dishonesty and code of ethics” violations pending an evaluation by City Manager Sharon Subadan.

Sutton was issued a department-administered polygraph test by Internal Affairs which, reports indicate, he failed.

“Based upon the polygraph examination, the applicant (Sutton) failed because there was deception indicated,” wrote polygraph examiner Kawaski Octavian Barnes in the IA report.

Despite the findings listed in the report and the recommendation for termination by Persley, Edwards said Wednesday that he would not pursue criminal charges against Sutton. The district attorney explained why.

“My office will not pursue criminal charges against Jamie Sutton,” Edwards said. “As a general principle of criminal law, I must consider whether a suspect has a criminal intent and then acts upon that criminal intent to determine if a crime was actually committed. This principle applies to citizens suspected of wrongdoing, as well as police officers. This office does not play favorites. We prosecute crimes on behalf of the citizens of Dougherty County and the state of Georgia, regardless of who commits the crimes.

“While the police cruiser video and the actions it depicts would give any citizen reason to pause and be concerned, after having thoroughly reviewed the facts of the incident and the totality of the circumstances, I do not find criminal intent on the part of the police officer in question.”

Edwards was asked about the legality of Sutton’s traffic stop, as it was reported in the Internal Affairs investigation that Glover’s faulty brake light was not visible in the dashcam video used as part of the investigation.

“Based on camera footage, the brake light violation cannot be seen prior to Officer Sutton calling out with the traffic stop on the radio,” the report said.

According to Edwards, he could see the faulty brake light in the video.

“I looked at it, and I saw the brake light out,” the district attorney said. “You could see it in the footage.”

Edwards was also asked about Sutton using a choke hold on Glover, which is listed as a “deadly force technique” in the IA report.

“Well, it’s just like anything that could be a deadly force technique, it is a matter of nomenclature as opposed to what actually occurred,” the district attorney said. “From what I could see, Officer Sutton was not trying to kill Llewellyn Glover.”

Edwards describes the incident as a “learning opportunity.”

“This is a learning opportunity for our law enforcement community and the citizens it serves,” he said. “As public servants, we should all strive to improve what we do and positively learn from our experiences. We owe that to the citizens who have placed their trust in us.”

According to Edwards, Sutton requested a review of his termination recommendation, as dictated by policy, from the city manager, which was scheduled to take place Wednesday.

As of Wednesday afternoon, that review process had not taken place, according to Subadan.

Subadan, who ultimately decides whether or not Sutton keeps his job, was short on details Wednesday revealing only that, “The hearing has not occurred yet” in a text message.