Warner Robins police officer pleads guilty after misconduct investigation

A Warner Robins Police narcotics officer who was put on paid leave in April for alleged misconduct recently pleaded guilty to violation of oath, according to a statement from the Houston County District Attorney’s Office.

John Tyler Harvey, a Narcotics Investigation Unit officer with WRPD, admitted to trying to use a person in a drug investigation as a confidential informant in exchange for leniency from the law without prior approval, the statement from DA William Kendall said.

“While his intentions may have been without malice, his actions were contrary to the principles and responsibilities we uphold as law enforcement officers,” said Interim Police Chief Roy Whitehead in a separate statement from the city of Warner Robins.

Harvey resigned Wednesday shortly before the plea and was sentenced to a five-year probated sentence, Kendall’s statement said. He must give up his POST certification and cannot hold a position of public trust during that sentence.

“Those who hold positions of public trust should be held to a high standard. In this case, a public officer failed to meet that standard, and violated his oath and the trust the public has granted him,” Kendall said.

Harvey was one of the six NIU officers put on paid leave last month when the Houston DA launched an investigation into alleged misconduct. Four of the officers were later reinstated, while the status of the sixth officer was still on leave “pending the outcome” of the investigation, the statement from the city said.

The case

The timeline of the case began when NIU officers pulled over a vehicle as part of a methamphetamine investigation March 31, Kendall’s statement said. After finding fentanyl but no meth, the officers took the two passengers back to the WRPD station.

After the passengers arrived and were booked on certain charges, Harvey apparently discovered that one of the two suspects still had 10 ounces of meth in his possession and still owed his dealer about $1,500, the statement said.

Harvey told the passenger in the sally port of WPD to “conduct business as usual,” the statement said, wanting the passenger to be a confidential informant. Kendall and prosecuting attorneys believed he intended to track down the supplier with the help of the informant.

The informant was brought into the probation office April 11 to discuss the violation of his probation and told officers he was being “forced to work,” Kendall’s statement said. Kendall’s office was notified shortly after and, the following day, found texts between Harvey and the informant.

The text messages, which were sent from Harvey’s city-issued phone, contained conversations about how much meth the informant had left and about the informant buying meth so Harvey could learn more about the supplier.

“Although Harvey’s intention to go after a high-level drug supplier may have been well-meaning, endorsing and allowing an informant to sell poison to pay off a debt is not conduct commensurate with the laws of this state,” Kendall said in the statement. “Although I believe this is not a systemic issue, I do recognize that it hurts public trust and rightfully so.”

The statement also said Kendall had video evidence and testimony from another officer of Harvey’s misconduct. The status of the investigation of the sixth officer on paid leave was unclear in Kendall’s statement.