Former West Blocton police officer arrested

WEST BLOCTON, Ala. ( WIAT ) — A West Blocton Police Officer has been fired after being arrested.

Former officer Jerry Cannon is accused of using his position for personal gain, a felony and misuse of confidential information, a misdemeanor. Investigator Chris Poole from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office says these kinds of crimes will not be tolerated.

“On behalf of myself and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, when I started this investigation Sheriff Jody Wade said we are not going to tolerate this in our county, and we want to put the message out that we are not going to tolerate this. We are here to help people, and to protect and serve and, we are not here to do anything corrupt, and we want people to know if you need us you come to us,” Poole said.

Cannon was arrested Friday night and bonded out of jail Sunday. Investigators say he is accused of using police equipment such as the “CAD,” computer-aided dispatch, and the “NCIC” National Crime Information Center, to run background information on people if they were wanted. Cannon is also accused of leaking private information. He allegedly gave heads up to warn residents about a warrant being served on their home.

Investigator Poole tells CBS 42 he just wants the former officer held accountable.

“We expect everybody in this county to do the right thing and that includes officers, and we want to hold ourselves more accountable, because we are the ones out here enforcing the law and we want people to trust us,” Poole said.

West Blocton Mayor Daniel Sims issued a statement saying: “The officer’s arrest was a surprise to the town, but we are cooperating and will continue to cooperate with the District Attorney’s office in their investigation of the matter. The town’s police chief resigned. The town is further investigating this incident to ensure that something like this does not occur again.”

Investigator Poole says more charges against Cannon are pending.

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