Update: Tucker Policemen Charged With Corruption

Updated Sunday, Feb. 17, 7:05 p.m.

Two DeKalb County Police Officers based at the Tucker Precinct are among 10 metro Atlanta law enforcement officers arrested by Federal Agents on Feb. 12 for protecting drug dealers during a drug trafficking sting, according to an official statement released Wednesday.

Officers Dennis Duren and Dorian Williams, both assigned to the Uniform Division at the Tucker Precinct, have been placed on administrative leave with pay, pending investigation results.  

Duren has been employed by the Department since Dec. 9, 2002 and Williams since Dec. 31, 2007.

“It is incomprehensible why these officers chose to aid and abet these criminals when they are sworn to protect our community from such offenders. These officers do not reflect the character of the hundreds of DeKalb County police officers that wear the badge. Their alleged actions only assist in eroding the public’s trust in those that honorably serve and that is truly disheartening,” said Interim Police Chief Lisa Gassner.

Original article:

A Tucker man has been charged in a corruption case involving law enforcement personnel from agencies throughout metro Atlanta, according to United States Attorney Sally Yates.

Jerry Mannery, 38, was arrested as part of a sting operation against officers who are alleged to have taken thousands of dollars in payouts. They have been charged with crimes including assisting with drug trafficking, receiving illegal payouts and using firearms during the commission of a crime.

The U.S. Attorney's office stated:

Between January and February 2013, DeKalb County Police Officer Dorian Williams, working together with Mannery (and Shannon Bass, 38, of Atlanta) provided protection for what he and Mannery believed were three separate transactions in the Atlanta area that involved multiple kilograms of cocaine.

Williams and Mannery accepted cash payments totaling $18,000 for these services. During the transactions, Williams was dressed in his DeKalb County Police uniform and carried a gun in a holster on his belt, and he patrolled the parking lots in which the undercover sales took place in his DeKalb Police vehicle.

During a meeting between the three transactions, Williams allegedly instructed Bass to remove any cocaine from the scene if Williams had to shoot someone during the upcoming sale. In another meeting, Williams suggested that future drug transactions should take place in the parking lot of a local high school during the afternoon, so that the exchange of backpacks containing drugs and money would not look suspicious.

Williams and Mannery are each charged with conspiring to commit extortion by accepting bribe payments and attempted possession with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine. 

An earlier version of this article identified Jerry Manners as a police officer. That is not the case and Patch regrets the error.