By JOE JOHNSON
former Athens-Clarke County
police officer was recently indicted by a Clarke County grand jury on bribery
and other charges for allegedly trying to help a friend buy his way out of a
DUI arrest.
Christopher Lee Burton, 35, had
been on the police force a little more than three years when he was arrested
and then fired in February 2012 for arranging the bribery attempt, officials
said.
He and his friend, 63-year-old
Julian Larry Anderson of Monroe, were both charged with bribery and conspiracy
to commit bribery, according to the indictment filed April 8 in Clarke County
Superior Court.
Burton was additionally charged
with violation of oath by a public officer.
The alleged bribery scheme
stemmed from Anderson’s arrest in August 2011 on charges of DUI and failure to
maintain.
Athens-Clarke County Senior
Police Officer Sean Palmateer arrested Anderson after seeing his car weaving on
West Broad Street, according to police reports.
Anderson pleaded not guilty and
was set to go to trial on the charges in March 2012. But as the trial
approached, he allegedly asked Burton if he could help him out of his jam,
authorities said.
According to the indictment,
Burton told Palmateer that Anderson was a friend who would pay $2,000 if
Palmateer would dismiss the criminal charges.
Burton then invited his fellow
officer to a party Anderson was supposed to be attending, according to the
indictment.
Palmateer immediately informed
a supervisor that he’d been approached by Burton.
The alleged bribe offer made
its way up the chain of command to Police Chief Jack Lumpkin, who asked the
Georgia Bureau of Investigation to investigate.
A meeting between Palmateer and
Anderson was subsequently arranged. When money changed hands between the
suspect and the officer, the transaction was monitored by the GBI, authorities
said.
The amount of the bribe was
$3,500, according to the indictment.
Burton was arrested by the GBI
on Feb. 16, 2012, and Anderson was arrested three days later.
