Former Atlanta Cop Sentenced for Corruption

Former Atlanta police officer sentenced for corruption
The Examiner by Todd DeFeo - December 16, 2010

ATLANTA, GA – A former Atlanta police officer faces 12 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to drug and corruption charges. Lucius T. Solomon III, 32, of Atlanta, also faces five years of supervised release after his prison term. In addition, the former officer must perform 200 hours of community service. “This police officer took an oath to protect the public from criminals. Instead, he protected the criminals from law enforcement. Now he is headed to federal prison,” U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in a statement. According to federal officials, Solomon three times offered protection for what he thought were “multi-kilogram cocaine deals” in exchange for money. For two of the “deals,” the ex-officer was in uniform and on duty, authorities said. “The public simply must have confidence in its police officers,” Atlanta Police Chief George Turner said in a statement. “While I believe this incident is not indicative of the vast majority of hardworking, honest and dedicated officers out there on the streets of Atlanta day in and day out, today’s sentence sends a strong message to those who would stray from their mission to uphold and enforce the law. Solomon pleaded guilty on Sept. 2.