Facebook logo Facebook icon Twitter logo Twitter icon Envelope Email icon

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Police Department said one of its officers showed what it calls an appalling lack of judgment when the officer broke quarantine and may have exposed a state trooper to the coronavirus.

The officer should’ve been home when he was speeding down a Georgia interstate.

The incident took place late Sunday along I-75 in Cobb County.

The state trooper who pulled over the speeding driver quickly learned he was an off-duty Atlanta police officer.

Investigators told WSB-TV the APD officer was driving 130 mph in a red Dodge Challenger when the trooper stopped him.

But what the trooper didn't learn until later, is that the officer had been tested five days earlier for suspected coronavirus symptoms and should have been in home quarantine.

The trooper was sent home Sunday night to avoid infecting any other troopers.

A reliable source confirmed the trooper is now in isolation for 14 days.

“This is very serious. The obvious, of course, is for the health of everybody. He shouldn’t have been out. He should have been in taking care of himself,” said Vince Champion with the International Brotherhood of Police. “This is something that should never have happened.”

The state patrol told WSB-TV there is no incident report with this case because only a citation was issued.

Dashcam video of the incident is not available because the speeding case is still open.

We are withholding the names of both the APD officer and the state trooper.

Atlanta police sent a statement saying as soon as the officer is healthy and returns to work, the department will relieve him of his police duties and begin a disciplinary investigation.