At least two officers in leadership roles at the Richmond County Board of Education Police Department assisted and encouraged subordinates to cheat on their annual certification tests. The cheating has been going on for years, according to a report provided to The Augusta Press.
Leadership at the department and some school board members are aware of the issue. Despite evidence proving the cheating became known as early as February 2024, none of the involved parties have been terminated.
“We are aware of allegations of two RCSS officers sharing answers to departmental in-service training course. Any reports of cheating by our officers are taken seriously. These allegations are under investigation as a personnel matter,” stated police Chief Mantrell Wilson. “Disciplinary action has been recommended for both officers.”
The courses where the cheating occurred were not internal department courses, but rather part of the officers’ state-mandated annual certification training, according to Georgia Peace Officer Standards & Training Council (GAPOST) Deputy Executive Director Chris Harvey.
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“The courses were taken via Virtual Academy Training, an accredited online training platform,” Harvey said.
All Georgia law enforcement officers are required to do annual certification training. Some training is done online, while some departments require in-person training for some mandatory courses, according to Major Steve Morris with the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
The usual response for a cheating scandal like this would be to contact GAPOST to investigate, according to Morris.
According to Harvey, as of Aug. 30, no investigation for Richmond County has been requested or opened on the matter.
“I would be very interested in getting whatever information you can provide to follow up on,” Harvey said. “If leadership is allowing this to happen and turning a blind eye to it, that could be subject to investigation as well.”
A summary report from an outside investigation into the matter stated, “Sergeant (Dorothy) Holmon was less definitive but acknowledged that she ‘probably’ had shared test questions and answers with department officers a year ago and ‘might’ have shared them in February 2024.”
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Sgt. Dorthy Holmon sent out a group text on Feb. 16 to at least seven police officers. The texts included screenshots of test questions and answers. Several officers responded in the text chain.
The questions were for a course titled Intro to Human Trafficking, according to Harvey.
“I missed two y’all make a hundred,” the text from Holmon read.
Holmon also indicated that when officers took the same tests together, they would call out answers someone didn’t know. She also stated “everyone had done this” to the investigator.
Holmon later admitted that she shared the test questions and answers via text and that she now understands that she can’t do that, according to the report. Holmon also confirmed she had not been disciplined but admitted she should be because Cpl. Kara Lundy had received discipline.
Lundy was suspended for three days without pay and received a letter of reprimand. She was also removed from the Emergency Management Team, which Lundy stated was too severe of a punishment for the infraction, according to the report.
Lundy started a new group text on March 11 that went to at least eight officers, many of whom were also in the first group text.
“Decision Making: The Foundation of Reasonable Force I got #1 and #8 wrong. The correct answers are: #1-all the above #8- 1,000,” the text read. The text was followed by screen shots of questions and answers. Multiple officers responded to the text with hearts and thumbs up emojis. Sgt. Holmon responded, “Thanks.”
Holmon and Lundy both declined to comment on the matter.
“A loss of certification would result in the inability to be a peace officer,” according to Harvey. “It could lead to revocation of certification or ability to be peace officers.”
Officers are not allowed to work without being certified annually, and once that certification is lost, it is almost impossible to get back if lost due to disciplinary action, according to Morris. GAPOST’s Harvey agreed and said cheating on the certification test could result in a finding of violation of oath of office charge, which can carry severe penalties.
It is unclear whether the subordinate officers who were on the group text will face disciplinary action for failing to report the cheating to their chain of command.
School Superintendent Kenneth Bradshaw did not return requests for comment.
The Georgia Public Safety Training Center assisted with background information for this article. In particular Kevin Angell the PIO for GPSTC was transparent and helpful wtih ensuring that the information related to the courses taken was accurate.
