A Dunwoody cop turned whistleblower will be able to keep his law enforcement certification after he claims he was fired in retaliation for criticizing the police department.
Austin Handle, who was fired after his two-year stint in Dunwoody for allegedly lying to his bosses and breaking department protocol, was investigated the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council after he was fired in May 2020. The agency’s board, which oversees police certifications and personnel issues, initially voted to revoke Handle’s certification, but he appealed the decision.
On May 2, POST’s chairman and executive director penned a letter saying they reversed the earlier ruling, administratively dissolving the case and allowing Handle to keep his certification.
“The flag on my file is gone as well,” Handle told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
After Handle was fired, he gained a significant following on TikTok under the handle @officerash. He accrued more than 100,000 followers by calling himself a “corruption whistleblower” and posting short videos where he talked about the Dunwoody Police Department. He made several allegations that supervisors were covering up sexual harassment within the department.
Handle said he was targeted in retaliation for trying to get another officer investigated. While he didn’t name him at the time, Handle was referring to Lt. Fidel Espinoza, who resigned last year amid an internal investigation that found he asked for nude photographs from at least...
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