Questions arise amid GBI investigation in Waynesboro

WAYNESBORO, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - We’re looking into more details surrounding the Burke County sheriff’s involvement in a state investigation into the Waynesboro Police Department.

The GBI investigation into the Waynesboro Police Department continues as Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams speaks out on his involvement.

In a video posted to Facebook, the sheriff itted he trained a Waynesboro officer also involved in the investigation.

We spent the day digging through new documents raising questions about the case.

There are still many questions lingering.

The GBI confirmed their investigation on Feb. 16. Meanwhile, the Waynesboro Police Department made a post on Facebook the next day saying they noticed some irregularities with a now-former employee’s training record. The department says they ed Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) and the GBI to look into the matter.

The same day on the 17th, we reached out to the Burke County Sheriff’s Office about the investigation. The email we received says Williams was not aware he was a part of the investigation, and the sheriff will not address rumors.

On Feb. 20, the sheriff’s office sent an email to us saying the sheriff ed the GBI last Friday, the same day the I-TEAM reached out about Jenkins and his training done by the sheriff.

They met with the GBI and provided documents earlier in the week after previously saying they did not know about the investigation.

The I-TEAM went digging for more information, including Jenkins’ personnel file and training records.

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On Dec. 22 of 2022, the chief investigator for the Waynesboro Police Department emailed Jenkins saying he was missing two classes: community policing and de-escalation training.

Those classes had to be completed by the new year. Jenkins’ training record shows those classes were then completed on Dec. 29. Mary Bennett was also on the roster for those classes. On Feb. 21, the same day we requested phone records and GPS from the sheriff’s office, he put out the video on Facebook.

“I agreed to give him the instruction and give him credit for the instruction after it was complete. I did do that,” said Williams.

Those classes were for community policing and de-escalation. Williams says he gave those in his office at the Burke County Sheriff’s Office. Williams says Jenkins repeatedly asked him to proof he took those classes. When Williams finally did on Jan. 9, he says he couldn’t what day Jenkins and mary Bennett took the classes. So he put it down as Dec. 29.

The sheriff says the police department ed the GBI and POST because Jenkins and the sheriff were not at his office during the time of the training that lines with William’s cell phone records.

What we still don’t know is what day the training happened. Only if it did, it would have needed to happen between Dec. 22 and Dec. 31.

The GBI is continuing with this investigation. We requested the original rosters with student signatures from Jenkins’ classes from December to now.

The only classes they have those for are classes taken in February and not not the Dec. 29 courses.

Georgia POST says they don’t require paper copies to be ed.

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