A north Georgia officer has turned himself into a county jail after being implicated in a hit-and-run that injured a small child.
The Rome Police Department confirmed that one of their own officers, Lt. Richard Penson, had been terminated due to the criminal charges he now faces. Those include misdemeanor counts of reckless driving and hit and run along with one felony count of second-degree cruelty to children.
Penson's charges stem from a hit and run accident that happened on Dec. 17 near the Kid Stop Learning Center at 1700 Dean Avenue. The department said he wasn't on duty and was driving his own vehicle at the time.
Penson turned himself in at the Floyd County Jail on Friday after warrants were secured for his arrest.
The investigation has been turned over to the Georgia State Patrol.
