Cop Fired After $500 Goes Missing From Homicide Victim

An Atlanta police officer is out of a job after being accused of lifting $500 off the victim of a fatal shooting. Keisha Richburg was investigated after Jamel Harris was shot in the head June 19, CBS 46 reports. A passerby, Leilani Collier, found Harris lying in the street and stopped to help; she looked in his wallet to find his ID, and later turned the wallet—which had the $500 cash in it—over to police. Collier told Harris' widow about the money, but when police gave Lanique Harris the wallet, they told her there was no money in it, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The administrative investigation did not determine whether Richburg took the money, but she was fired Monday for failing to account for it.

"An administrative investigation was not able to determine what happened to the cash, but Officer Richburg did not properly account for the money according to the department's policies and procedures," says a statement from the police department. "As a result, she was terminated." Adds Police Chief Erika Shields, "Officer integrity goes to the heart of what we do here every single day. It’s imperative the public have trust in our word and our actions. It’s extremely disappointing to see the victim of a fatal shooting be victimized twice by the actions of one our officers." Police ultimately plan to turn the case over to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office for review. Collier says she spoke to Lanique Harris and Harris told her the police department had promised to reimburse her. (More Atlanta stories.)