MACON, Ga. — Bibb County Sheriff David Davis agreed to hire Rahim McCarley as a deputy after three Atlanta police supervisors said he "shouldn't be in law enforcement."
Records from the sheriff's office say they eliminated McCarley as a job candidate after Atlanta police said he "never came to work," "had problems following policies and procedures," and had several Internal Affairs investigations pending.
Sheriff Davis says Atlanta police didn't provide a complete file with details on the investigations.
"None of those had reached a point to where a clear decision had been made where he actually did violate any policies," says Davis.
Less than three weeks later, Davis himself marked McCarley "approved for hire."
Barely a year later, McCarley now faces criminal charges. While working as a deputy, investigators say, he also owned a convenience store that took in nearly a half million dollars in illegal-gambling profits.
Last week, McCarley and four other people were arrested and charged with racketeering after investigators raided his store, RJs on Pio Nono Avenue and two other Macon stores.
District Attorney David Cooke said some of the suspects paid bribes to state employees to protect their illegal-gambling operation.
13WMAZ obtained McCarley's personnel records from both Bibb County and the Atlanta Police Department under the state's open-records law.
They show that Bibb County's background check raised red flags about McCarley's work in Atlanta and that Davis' staff eliminated him as a job candidate, but that Davis himself signed off on hiring him.
On Wednesday, a week after the gambling bust, Davis said McCarley had been fired.
'An honor and a blessing'
McCarley's February 2018 application to Bibb shows that he attended Bibb's Howard High School and Georgia Military College in Milledgeville.
He also spent four years in the Army.
He worked for Atlanta police for two years, but left in April 2018.
His resignation letter in Atlanta doesn't give a reason.
"It has been a pleasure working for this department and I am grateful for the opportunity," he wrote.
According to records from the sheriff's department, McCarley was paid $39,000 to $41,000 in Atlanta, but his Bibb County salary was $35,000 to $36,000.
When Bibb County's Internal Affairs Department investigated him as a job candidate, several references praised McCarley. One former neighbor called him a "good young man, a hard worker and very dependable," who never got into trouble.
An Army sergeant called him "a great soldier, very hard working, trustworthy and very dependable."
In his application, McCarley wrote that he looked forward to protecting the people in his home county: "I grew up in Bibb County and have a loving and respecting relationship with the county and its people. To serve the people here in Bibb County would be an honor and a blessing."
'Shouldn't be in law enforcement'
But Atlanta police officials raised red flags. On May 4, 2018, one told Bibb that McCarley "had trouble with following Policies and Procedures."
"Sgt. Davis stated that the applicant never came to work, he always stated that he was out on military leave, but never brought in military orders," said a report.
An internal affairs investigator wrote, "When I was contacted back by three of (McCarley's) supervisors, they stated that the applicant shouldn't be in law enforcement. The Office of Professional Standards Stated that they will not rehire him."
"I was told that he felt the applicant left because he was under several (Internal Affairs) complaints. He stated that more complaints had come in prior to the applicated quitting," said a report.
Those reports seemed to put a chill on McCarley's job prospects.
On May 8, 2018, Bibb's Capt. Chris Patterson wrote, "McCarley's background investigation has been terminated and he will not be considered for employment due to unfavorable findings..."
Davis says they also received some positive feedback, so he made a judgment call.
"Sometimes you're going to have good recommendations, sometimes bad. We had a family member to come in and sort of vouch for him; a person that I knew," says Davis.
He says every hiring decision is different.
"Sometimes your chance is a good one, and sometimes you turn into a good officer that does good work for you; sometimes in this case it just doesn't," says Davis.
But a few days later, the department did a turnaround and contacted McCarley for a followup interview on his work in Atlanta.
On May 29, 2019, Chief Deputy Michael Scarbury and an Atlanta Police official recommended McCarley for a deputy's job, writing, "There were originally some concerns about his work performance in Atlanta, but those concerns have been addressed by the applicant and by officials in Atlanta."
The Bibb County records don't explain those concerns any further or how they were resolved.
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