Salisbury police fire third officer in four months

SALISBURY, N.C. — For the second time in two days and the third time in just months, the Salisbury Police Department has fired an officer.

This time, the officer is accused of keeping counterfeit money he took during an investigation.

The department says it found a fake $50 bill in his patrol car.

Officer Bryan Hodgson's termination letter stated, "You elected to not complete an incident report and also elected not to surrender the counterfeit bill into the department's evidence system."

The letter also accuses him of not completing required training with his K-9.

The city also fired Sgt. Rodney Mahaley this week. The department was not specific about what happened, but said his behavior was "unbecoming of a supervisor."

In January, Kenny Lane was fired, accused of insubordination and making false accusations.

At the time, he told Channel 9 he was fired because he complained about training. But this month, the city manager reviewed the case and said the decision was justified.

The local NAACP said it heard several complaints from officers and people in the community about the department. Some of them are about how training is handled.

President Scott Teamer said he's concerned about misconduct in the department. He plans to speak with state NAACP leaders next week to decide whether they should ask the U.S. Justice Department to step in.

Eyewitness News couldn't reach the city for comment because offices were closed for Good Friday.

A spokesman said Thursday that neither the city nor the police chief would release any more details.