Jeff Athey, North Carolina Deputy Sheriff, Fired For Alleged Bank Robbery

A sheriff’s deputy in Davidson County, North Carolina, was fired Tuesday for allegedly robbing a bank in Rowan County.

Davidson County Sheriff David Grice said Jeff Athey was accused of robbing the F&M Bank in Rockwell at gunpoint Tuesday around 4 p.m. EST. Athey was immediately taken into custody and is currently at the Rowan County Sheriff's Office.

Officials at the Davidson County Sheriff's Department mentioned the accused deputy had been serving in the department for at least a year. He was terminated Tuesday afternoon immediately after the sheriff found out about the alleged crime in Rowan County.

"I’m as shocked and appalled as anyone else about Mr. Athey’s behavior. During his employment with our agency, he gave no indication that this type of behavior could occur. I’m thankful that no one was injured and he did not resist efforts to make an arrest," Sheriff Grice said.

"We’re not going to tolerate this kind of behavior, obviously, and we don’t tolerate anybody who violates the law or violates the policies at the sheriff’s office. They’re not going to be employed with me if they do," he added.

Athey did not resist while being arrested by the officers. He reportedly committed the crime before his shift was to begin later in the day. Anyone with further information on the robbery was asked to call the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office or the Rockwell Police Department, which were investigating the matter.

Although such incidents were rare, there have still been instances earlier of police officers being arrested for robbery.

In December 2017, the Hawks, an independent directorate within the South African Police Service that is in charge of crime investigation, arrested two of its own officers following the theft of R1m ($83,660) in September.

The department spokesman Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu had said two members from the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crimes unit were arrested along with another detective from the Hillbrow police station. Another suspect was still being tracked down.

The four officers were accused of pulling over a car and stealing money from the driver in Norwood in September 2017.

"The driver insisted that they proceed to the nearest police station. He was hauled to Norwood police station where a search was conducted and the four allegedly found two boxes full of cash including a receipt indicating the total amount which the victim had exchanged for his employer," Mulamu had said.

"The suspects allegedly left the police precinct and proceeded to the Johannesburg Specialized Commercial Crimes Court building on Eloff Street in a police escort. They allegedly offloaded the two boxes and entered one of the offices where they shared R1m and returned the remainder to the driver," she added.

In another incident in December, four suspected armed robbers including a policeman were arrested for robbing a supermarket at Nungua in Accra, Ghana. The police officer was identified as Corporal Raymond Amegashie of the Tema Police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Unit. After his arrest, he led the officials to retrieve some weapons and some of the cash stolen from the supermarket.