Bribery Case of Atlanta Police Officer: A Detailed Ethical Violation

This case study delves into the ethical violation committed by a former Atlanta police officer, Elton Augustin, who was sentenced to two years in prison for accepting bribes and misleading FBI agents. The case highlights the betrayal of public trust when law enforcement officers engage in illegal activities, such as providing protection to an illegal nightclub in exchange for cash. Augustin, along with other officers, obstructed investigations into the nightclub's illicit operations, which included prostitution, drug sales, and gambling. The FBI uncovered the corruption in 2010, leading to the arrest of Augustin and other involved officers. This case underscores the importance of ethical conduct within law enforcement and the consequences of violating the oath to serve and protect the community.

Running head: ETHICAL VIOLATION
ETHICAL VIOLATION

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ETHICAL VIOLATION
Case Study: Former Atlanta Police Officer Sentenced to Prison for Accepting Bribes
A former officer of Atlanta police department named as Elton Augustin was given punishment of
two years imprisonment for various unethical activities like accepting bribes and misleading the
agents of FBI. The duty of the police officer to support the rules and regulation of that particular
country and protect the society they were serving. However, the accused police officer supported
an illegal business and engaged in black money exchange and also provided false information to
the investigator of federal unit. The Attorney Sally of United States made the above statement
and named as Quillian Yates. As opined by Shalvi et al., (2015), the action of the police officer
betrayed the society and the officer who work honestly and serve the country in a dedicated way.
The career of the police officer was ruined when that individual was convicted of the above-
mentioned accusation. It is necessary to keep a note about the maximum number of honest
officer that serve the society and have a proper understanding about their oaths in context of the
police badge and maintains the trust of the civilians towards the legal system of that particular
country. The police officials want everyone to contact the nearest police station in case of any
kind of activities that involves corruption (Baykara, Demir & Yaman 2015).
The charges that were put on the officer of Atlanta police department named as Elton Augustin
from June to August 2007 were presented in the court. It was found that the officer while serving
as a police was engaged with an illegal form of nightclub in Georgia. Not only Augustin were
engaged in this illegal issue but also two other officers were also indulged in this. They used to
get $10000 cash to give security to that illegal nightclub. Moreover, they used to create
hindrance for the other officer to investigate the illegal activities in the nightclub (Hassan,
Wright & Yukl 2014). The illegal activities in the nightclub comprised of prostitution, selling
drugs, gambling and many more.
Other officers and Augustin gives duty outside the nightclub at the parking lot. It is perform with
an intention so that they could interfere in the activities of the honest police officer, who want to
take action against the illegal activities of the nightclub (U.S Attorney’s Office, 2013). They
don’t allow other officer to know about the illegal activities that were going inside the nightclub.
Hence, the nightclub continued the activities without any barriers for various months.

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On the day 15th September, 2007, the police department of Atlanta closed the nightclub that was
performing illegal activities and the owner of the club got arrested. However, the FBI came to
know about the engagement of police officer in the illegal activities of nightclub in the year of
2010. Name of the other two officers that were engaged in this activity were Eric Jones and
Lucius T. Solomon. Latter one is not only accused of bribery but also for drug trafficking and
were punished for 12 year imprisonment. Jones were also accused but his charges were not
proved so he was waiting for the punishment. Augustin got imprisonment of 2 years as a
punishment by the district judge of United States.

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Reference list
Journal
Shalvi, S., Gino, F., Barkan, R., & Ayal, S. (2015). Self-serving justifications: Doing wrong and
feeling moral. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24(2), 125-130. Retrieved
on: 10th September 2018, from: http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/self-
serving+justifications_132c2494-d4a5-4292-94ee-26249cb46b6e.pdf
Baykara, Z. G., Demir, S. G., & Yaman, S. (2015). The effect of ethics training on students
recognizing ethical violations and developing moral sensitivity. Nursing ethics, 22(6),
661-675. Retrieved on: 11th September 2018, from:
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Hassan, S., Wright, B. E., & Yukl, G. (2014). Does ethical leadership matter in government?
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problems. Public Administration Review, 74(3), 333-343. Retrieved on: 9th September
2018, from: http://faculty.cbpp.uaa.alaska.edu/afgjp/PADM601%20Fall%202014/Does
%20ethical%20leadership%20matter.pdf
U.S Attorney’s Office, 2013, Former Atlanta Police Officer Sentenced to Prison for Accepting
Bribes, Case study, retrieved from: https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/atlanta/press-
releases/2013/former-atlanta-police-officer-sentenced-to-prison-for-accepting-bribes