A part-time officer, who was terminated in December after being accused of misgendering and accosting a transwoman at Tucker-Reid H. Cofer Library last October, disputed the facts surrounding the incident, an internal investigation report said.
After police concluded their investigation, the officer, Glen Weaver, 70, was terminated, according to DeKalb County Police Department officials.
While Weaver was fired in late December, department officials did not confirm his termination with Rough Draft until early February.
An internal investigation report, obtained by Swinson and shared with Rough Draft, highlighted four areas of possible misconduct: professional image, body-worn camera, off-duty employment, and duty to read/understand/comply with orders.
The written report recounted interviews with Swinson, library officials, and Weaver, as well as examining written department policies and DeKalb County policies.
It concluded that Weaver failed to “work diligently or with a bearing consistent with the image of a professional employee.” It also noted that Weaver had failed to utilize his body-worn camera as dictated by policy, and “to read, understand, comply or maintain a working knowledge of all laws, rules and regulations, general and special orders, policies and procedures of the Department.”
It also reported that Weaver had worked for 19 days at the library before going through the proper approval channels for part-time work. In fact, the investigation noted that Weaver only submitted the employment request the day after the Oct. 20 library incident.
Conflicting accounts
In the report, Weaver said he approached Swinson about entering a women’s bathroom at the library after a woman and her children complained about a man in the bathroom.
The report revealed that Weaver admitted questioning Swinson about utilizing the family restroom versus the women’s restroom, but he disputed the approach and language Swinson said he used.
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Victor Reed, a Tucker library security officer, made a statement that he observed two women leaving the women’s restroom, after Swinson’s entry, who appeared to be disturbed. When he asked the second woman if she was okay, Reed said she replied: “How is it that you can allow a man to use the women’s restroom?” Mr. Reed said he replied, “Unfortunately, the library system does not have a policy that
dictates who can go into which restroom.”
After this exchange, Weaver interjected asking about the policy, but Reed contended, according to the narrative, that he did not ask for Weaver’s help with the issue and confirmed there was no policy against Swinson utilizing the restroom of her choice.
Reed said the woman who had complained to him “dashed” out of the door after he explained the policy. He described the library patron as upset.
Reed also said he observed Weaver approaching and conversing with Swinson briefly after the woman complaining left the library.
“Mr. Reed did not hear the conversation but noticed Officer Weaver talking to Ms. Swinson in a soft tone. Mr. Reed also described Officer Weaver as being polite to Ms. Swinson,” according to the report.
Weaver also told police he spoke to Swinson in a “very polite” voice.
“Sir, in the future, can you use the men’s restroom,” Weaver told Swinson, according to his internal investigation statement. “There are little girls and women in the women’s restroom, and that can create a problem and could be offensive. There is a men’s restroom right across the lobby.”
Swinson, however, contended in the report that she was “shocked, disappointed, and offended to be humiliated by a member of the DeKalb County Police Department,” but didn’t want Weaver to be fired or disciplined for his actions.
Policy violations revealed during investigation
With those violations of policies confirmed, DeKalb County officials said the decision to fire Weaver was standard procedure for employees of the department’s RETRO program, a program for retired, reserve officers. Weaver was terminated on Dec. 19.
“The Department’s policy is clear as it relates to the RETRO program: any misconduct that warrants disciplinary action is grounds for removal from the RETRO program,” Blaine Clark, DKPD public information officer, said. “Reserve and retired officers are not full-time paid employees…The DeKalb County Police Department remains committed to professionalism, lawful conduct, and respectful treatment of all members of the public.”
Rough Draft reached out to Weaver for comment regarding his firing and disputed accounting, but was unsuccessful. Both he and Swinson were interviewed for a story published by independent news outlet Center Square.
Weaver, in the story, said being fired from the department has affected his ability to work security for film and television.
“It hurts,” Weaver told Center Square. “Those movie jobs were paying 70 bucks an hour, and I was doing traffic.”
Transparency issues
Swinson, who lives in Brookhaven, said she did not realize Weaver had been fired until reading the Center Square story, which she felt reflected a lack of transparency from the police department.
The interview with Center Square was conflicting for Swinson, who said the language and comments in the story didn’t reflect the “teachable moment” DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson spoke about after the incident.
“He still seems to genuinely believe that he is blameless,” Swinson told Rough Draft. “Lorraine Cochran-Johnson hoped this would be a teachable moment, but former Officer Weaver seems to have learned nothing.”
Swinson said she is also disappointed with the police department’s lack of transparency about Weaver’s termination. The internal report she received did not indicate that he was no longer with the department.
“DeKalb Police seem to have been much more forthcoming with Center Square than with Rough Draft or [other media outlets],” Swinson said. “I would love to know why that was the case.”
Rough Draft requested Weaver’s internal investigation report in December via an open records request, but was denied because the records were “exempt from disclosure under Public Records Act.”
It wasn’t until a Rough Draft reporter revealed in February that she had independently obtained the internal investigation report that officials confirmed Weaver’s firing.