‘Unacceptable behavior’ prompts VA to suspend top police officers at Atlanta Medical Center

DECATUR, Ga. – Allegations of “unacceptable behavior” prompted the Veterans Administration to place three top Atlanta VA Medical Center police officers on paid suspension.

This behavior includes “allegations of sexual assault and harassment,” according to a statement provided to the FOX 5 I-Team by VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes.

Police Chief Beverly Banks, Deputy Police Chief Johnnie McCullor and a police major were removed from duty pending the results of an investigation.

But the FOX 5 I-Team has learned that the VA’s Office of Internal Affairs actually investigated some of the same concerns two years ago, but the person accused of sexual harassment – Deputy Chief McCullor – remained in his position .

Shaneka Jackson is this alleged victim.

“He would often stand behind me and I would wonder why is he still here?” Jackson told the FOX 5 I-Team in his first public comments. “Has he nothing else to do?”

A single mother and retired Air Force military police officer, Jackson applied to join the Atlanta VA Police Department in 2021.

But after months of working in dispatch while waiting for a slot to open up for mandatory police academy training, she said she had to resign because the pandemic kept delaying the start of the class.

According to the EEO complaint she would eventually file with the VA, Jackson said Deputy Police Chief McCullor offered to help her find a job with the private security company that the Atlanta VA also uses.

But it turned out to be an offer she said in her complaint that she didn’t know came with sexual conditions attached.

“I remember one day he asked me to come into his office,” Jackson said. “He just told me I told you it would cost you a lot.”

According to that complaint, the deputy chief exposed himself and encouraged Jackson to participate in a sexual act.

“I’m like whoa, whoa, whoa like it’s not something I’m going to do,” Jackson told us. “I walked out of his office so fast. All I remember is seeing him adjusting his pants and I walked out of there and started crying hysterically.”

Two friends confirmed to EEOC investigators that Jackson shared details with them shortly after the incident.

But Jackson said she did not immediately file a formal complaint.

“I was scared at that moment because he had a lot of power,” she said.

But then came a misdirected text in January 2022.

Thinking she was texting a friend, Jackson says she accidentally sent this to McCullor:
“Snakes don’t go any further.”
In her complaint, she claims McCullor went to her boss and asked her to be fired.

“I told them that this man has been harassing me for a very long time and that you are all trying to fire me for him,” Jackson said.

She was eventually demoted and transferred. When she failed to show up for work, the private security company fired her. They denied that McCullor played any role in the decision.
It wasn’t until after she was fired in April 2022 that Jackson filed her complaint with the EEOC.
And when McCullor met with EEOC investigators, he denied every one of Jackson’s claims.

The VA convinced an administrative law judge to dismiss her complaint because it was not timely filed and most of her allegations occurred when she was not a VA employee. Jackson appealed.

But it’s more than just a story of what she said/he said. That’s also what the VA internal affairs investigation says.

In July 2022, the VA’s Office of the Chief Security Officer conducted its own investigation into Jackson’s claims.
The FOX 5 I-Team obtained this copy through the Freedom of Information Act.
After interviewing several witnesses, “it was reiterated throughout the interviews that (McCullor) had a romantic interest in Jackson.”
The report states that McCullor “admitted to special agents that he gave Jackson money and sent him text messages outside of work hours…(because) he wanted to help Jackson as a single parent, a statement that investigators do not find credible.

And as for Jackson’s allegation that McCullor exposed himself, “staff described him as vindictive, condescending, toxic and having a reputation as a ‘womanizer’…investigators drew certain conclusions who would support Jackson’s reports as accurate and truthful.”

Yet for the next two years, McCullor remained deputy chief, until this month.

After the FOX 5 I-Team contacted the VA, the agency announced “immediate action to address the challenges facing the Atlanta VA Police Department.”

This includes sending a national team “to investigate the situation in the Atlanta Police Department, make recommendations regarding these three individuals, and identify other changes that may be needed to improve the culture.”

The VA also named an interim police chief and a deputy chief.

“We treat these allegations with the utmost seriousness and are moving aggressively to investigate them and will take prompt and appropriate action,” the VA statement said.

The agency did not respond to our questions asking why it took two years to take the announced measures.

Reached by text message, McCullor replied: “no interview or comment.”

The bank chief did not respond.

Here is the full statement from VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes in response to our questions about Jackson’s two-year-old complaint:

Due to employee complaints and allegations of unacceptable behavior within the Atlanta VA Medical Center Police Department, including allegations of sexual assault and harassment, VA detailed Police Chief, Deputy Chief of the police and the major (removing them from their police duties). and suspension authorities) pending the results of an investigation.

VA does not tolerate sexual assault or harassment. We treat these allegations with the utmost seriousness, are investigating aggressively, and will take prompt and appropriate action.

While this investigation progresses, VA is taking immediate steps to address the challenges facing the Atlanta VA Police Department, including:

– Dispatching a national team – including the VA’s Chief Security Officer – to investigate the situation in the Atlanta Police Department, make recommendations regarding these 3 individuals, and identify other changes that may be necessary to improve culture.

-Immediately appoint a new leadership team within the Atlanta Police Department. We have appointed the VA Southeast Network (VISN 7) Police Chief as Acting Police Chief and the Houston VAMC Deputy Police Chief as Acting Deputy.

– Evaluate our policies and procedures to ensure that our Atlanta employees are held to the highest possible standards of conduct consistent with VA’s core values ​​– and that when problems arise, they are addressed and resolved immediately.

Additionally, Kai Mentzer, director of the Jackson, MS VA Medical Center, will become the new medical center director in Atlanta on June 3, 2024. He – along with other VA leaders – will focus on optimizing operations and culture at VA Atlanta facilities, including within the police department.

As always, we are committed to ensuring a safe, welcoming, and harassment-free environment for veterans and VA employees. All VA employees are encouraged to take the White Ribbon VA Pledge to never commit, condone, or remain silent about sexual harassment, sexual assault, or domestic violence against others. We demand that our employees adhere to the highest possible standards of ethical action and we will not tolerate anything less.

We cannot comment further at this time as this is an ongoing investigation, but we will provide further updates as they become available.