VALDOSTA, Ga. (WTXL) - A Valdosta Police Officer has been fired after interfering in a bar fight that involved her boyfriend.
Shantaya Herring interfered with the arrest of her boyfriend on March 18 and was arrested and charged with obstruction of a law enforcement officer.
On March 18, while off-duty in East Point Georgia, Herring, who has been with the police department since 2007, was with her boyfriend at a sports bar in East Point, Georgia.
While at the bar, Herring’s boyfriend was involved in a fight with bar security and an East Point Police Officer who was working off-duty security at the bar.
During the fight, the East Point Police Officer attempted to arrest the boyfriend and reported that Herring interfered with the arrest.
Afterward, Herring was arrested and charged with obstruction of a law enforcement officer.
Chief Brian Childress was told of the arrest on March 18 and Herring was contacted and placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation.
That same day, an internal affairs investigation began and the police department notified the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Council that Herring had been arrested in violation to POST Rules.
On Thursday, after reviewing the internal affairs investigation and incident report from the East Point Police Department, Herring was fired for violating several police department policies that included conducting unbecoming a Valdosta Police Officer and failure to conformance with laws.
“Although I am deeply disappointed in the conduct of my officer, I am proud of the East Point Police Department for two reasons: they treated a Police Officer like anyone else and for notifying my department of the incident," said Childress. "As I have said before, we are not perfect, we will always police our own, and we will be honest with our community when we make mistakes."
