Wadley cop fired after hit-and-run in Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A Wadley police officer has been fired after being involved in a hit-and-run crash in Augusta.

The Wadley Police Department had placed officer Anderson Deliford on administrative leave after learning of Monday’s crash in an Augusta parking lot, then announced Thursday that he’d been relieved of duties after an internal investigation.

He was terminated for violating department and city policies and procedures, Police Chief Paul Jordan said.

“The incident has given us a chance to evaluate the city hiring practices,” he said in a statement.

The investigation of Deliford began after video surfaced of the incident in the parking lot of Max Fitness on Bobby Jones Expressway.

The video shows a patrol car hit a parked and unoccupied car, then turn on its blue lights and speed off.

According to a traffic report from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, Deliford struck the right rear of the other vehicle before getting out of his vehicle, looking at the damage and then leaving.

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Deputies said he told them he noticed someone waving him down and thought they were trying to tell him he had his blue lights on. Deputies also said he told them he didn’t know he’d struck a vehicle.

Deliford was off duty but driving his marked patrol car, according to the city of Wadley, which said Deliford was charged by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office with leaving the scene of an accident.

Wadley police on Tuesday launched an internal investigation of Deliford and said he’d been placed on paid administrative leave in accordance with department protocol.

“The Wadley Police Department takes any incident involving our officers seriously and is committed to a thorough and transparent investigation,” Wadley City Administrator Dwayne S. Flowers said in a statement.

Past employment problems

Deliford’s record with the Georgia Peace Officer Training Council indicated he has been fired, has voluntarily resigned and has been demoted at jobs in the past.

For example, the record shows he:

• Voluntarily resigned from Georgia State Prison on Jan. 31, 2012, after four years of employment.
• Was fired on Oct. 18, 2016, after about 10 months on the job as a Liberty County jailer.
• Was fired by the Walthourville Police Department on Sept. 7, 2021, after working for the agency since Oct. 9, 2017. During that time, he got a promotion to lieutenant then received a disciplinary demotion a little over a year later and ultimately was fired on Sept. 7, 2021.
• Voluntarily resigned as a Reidsville officer on June 17 of this year after about a year and a half on the job.

His employment file with the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office details a number of attendance issues, many of which were blamed on National Guard duty. However, supervisors said he failed to provide complete information about his unit and drill dates.

“Officer Deliford showed great potential when he first started,” Jail Administrator Jeffrey S. Hein wrote in the file. “He later changed and continuously had attendance issues.”

READ THE RECORDS:

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