Austin Handle
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Austin Scott Handle (born June 18, 1995) is an American police officer, best known for whistleblowing on police corruption and his social media presence as "Officer ASH". Handle graduated from the University of West Georgia in 2019 with his Bachelor's of Science in Criminology. Between the years of 2018-2020, he was a certified police officer working in a patrol position in Dunwoody, Georgia. In April 2020, he expressed interest in filing an internal complaint of corruption to his supervisor leading to elevated levels of retaliation. He went on to report credible evidence of the corruption as a matter of public interest on the TikTok social media platform.[1][2]
In May 2020, two officers traveled to Handle's residence in Cumming, Georgia, and served him with termination paperwork after two other Dunwoody police employees, Roger Halstead and Brian Bolden, came forward as whistleblowers. Each of the whistleblowers reported a police commander, Lieutenant Fidel Espinoza, as playing a leading role in widespread corruption and sexual harassment within the police department.[3] In Handle's termination paperwork, the Chief of Police, Billy J. Grogan, cited that Handle had been "Untruthful" when asked about "emergency driving" in his patrol vehicle. Following Handle's termination, Chief Grogan personally conducted the investigation into Espinoza's conduct after being named as a defendant in the case. Grogan's investigation of the matter led to a finding that Espinoza had indeed sent "sexual messages" but that he did not "harass or coerce."[4]
As months turned to years, Handle led a successful social media campaign, under the hashtag #RogueBlue, to raise awareness of their story on the TikTok platform, which garnered over 5.4 Million views.[5] In late 2020, Handle lost his Georgia Peace Officer Certification and lost several appeals to the Georgia Department of Labor unemployment board. In a final appeal to the Georgia Department of Labor's Board of Review, later published by the AJC, Handle wrote "The occurrence of simply believing the contents of documents provided by one government agency to another without proper fact-checking, especially when ruling over cases of truthfulness involving that government agency as a stakeholder, is a failure of our legal system."[6] In October 2021, the Board of Review then reversed their decision in Handle's favor, granting him unemployment benefits.[7][8]
In 2022, the Georgia POST Council[9] reversed their decision and reinstated Handle's certification as a Georgia peace officer and stated that they did not believe there was enough evidence to lead independent investigators to a conclusion that Handle had been fired for violating department policy.[10][11] Handle later served as the vice chairman of the Lamplighter Project[12], a non-profit dedicated to law enforcement whistleblower advocacy. Handle also became a contributor to police reform legislation, specifically the "Special Investigator for Law Enforcement Act" (H.R. 6762), introduced in Congress by Rep. Gerry Connolly.[13][14][15][16][17] Handle continued on as a leading advocate for law enforcement whistleblowers, speaking to officers around the United States whom were seeking assistance, and for raising awareness about the scandal that took place at the Dunwoody Police Department.[18] He went on to organize an effort to speak directly to the leaders and citizens of Dunwoody at a local City Council meeting,[19] asking for transparency and protections for other police whistleblowers like Brian Bolden. At the meeting, Handle stated "It's time for the citizens and leaders of Dunwoody to take a stand." After Handle asked publicly for the City Council's protection over Bolden, the Dunwoody Police Department fired Brian Bolden the following morning.[20][21]
References[edit]
- ↑ Capelouto, J. D. "Fired Dunwoody officer, 25, finds a following on TikTok". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ↑ Schilling, Erin (2020-08-15). "Former Dunwoody police officer tells story of alleged misconduct in department on TikTok". Rough Draft Atlanta. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ↑ Ruch, John (2020-06-27). "Two former Dunwoody Police officers and civilian worker claim sexual harassment and other issues, demand $500K each". Rough Draft Atlanta. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ↑ Ruch, John (2020-07-02). "Dunwoody Police lieutenant sent sexual messages but did not harass or coerce, chief's report says". Rough Draft Atlanta. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ↑ "#RogueBlue". TikTok. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ↑ "Austin Handle's Appeal and Board of Review's Decision (Redacted) | PDF". Scribd. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ↑ Hansen, Zachary. "'Keep the faith': Dunwoody police whistleblower gets unemployment benefits". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ↑ Purcell, Sammie (2021-12-10). "Board rules Dunwoody whistleblower can get benefits". Rough Draft Atlanta. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ↑ "Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council". www.gapost.org.
- ↑ Hansen, Zachary. "Dunwoody whistleblower wins appeal to keep police certification". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ↑ Purcell, Sammie (2022-05-20). "Former Dunwoody officer wins back law enforcement certification". Rough Draft Atlanta. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ↑ "Home | Law Enforcement Whistleblowers". Lamplighter Project.
- ↑ Purcell, Sammie (2021-05-20). "Current, former Dunwoody officers among many calling for accountability and police reform". Rough Draft Atlanta. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ↑ Purcell, Sammie (2022-02-21). "Former Dunwoody officer endorses whistleblowing legislation ". Rough Draft Atlanta. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ↑ Duret, Daphne (2021-12-28). "Police whistleblower: Solutions to end code of silence". www.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ↑ Duret, Daphne (2021-12-10). "Whistleblower cops face a system built to beat them down". www.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ↑ "Whistleblower cops face a system built to beat them down". ca.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ↑ Turner, Jane (2020-09-07). ""They have corrupted and twisted the system." Whistleblower of the Week: Austin Handle". Whistleblower Network News. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ↑ ALBERTSON, JEFFREY. "Dunwoody residents besiege council with calls to address police leadership". Appen Media. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ↑ DRUKMAN, JAKE. "Dunwoody police fire officer linked to media leak". Appen Media. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
- ↑ "Police officer accused of violating department policy calls investigation a 'witch hunt'". 95.5 WSB. 2022-03-22. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
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