A Riverdale Police Department patrol sergeant found himself on the wrong side of the law this week, as he was slapped with charges and subsequently arrested. Shannon Haynes is facing allegations of false imprisonment and simple assault related to a domestic violence incident, as clay bars now replace the badge he once wielded proudly since his hiring in January 2015.
The charges came down Monday, and as the information trickled out, it's understood Haynes has been positioned on paid leave, his future with the department hanging by a thread as internal affairs scrutinize his actions, an investigation threatening to unravel his career. FOX 5 Atlanta reported Haynes will remain on this paid purgatory until the Riverdale Police Department concludes its internal probe into the sergeant's conduct, the details of which are shrouded in some kind of bureaucratic mystery.
Meanwhile, Haynes, who once patrolled the streets of Riverdale, now traverses the corridors of the Clayton County Jail, his work attire traded for an inmate's uniform. The sergeant's arrest sent shockwaves through the department, prompting a standard albeit somber administrative response.
Clearly mired in procedure and protocol, the Riverdale Police Department offered sparse crumbs of information, merely stating Haynes is "pending the outcome of the case against him and an internal investigation," a quote gleaned from Atlanta News First and leaving much for community speculation while Atlanta News First and FOX 5 Atlanta endeavor to untangle the narrative web, Haynes' side of the story yet remains untold publicly.
Inquiries by both Atlanta News First and FOX 5 Atlanta to the Riverdale Police Department beckoned further clarity on the developing situation, but as the blue wall stays firm, details are dispensed piecemeal as the Riverdale community looks on, waiting for the next chapter of what has become a local legal saga.
