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Published Thursday, May 29, 2008 in Local

File Photo

Charles Patrick Morgan

Former policeman found dead

By Elizabeth Richardson

The Times-Herald

An ex-police officer who had been arraigned in March on charges that he'd been taking money from Hispanic males during traffic stops was found dead at his home in Carroll County Thursday.

Charles Patrick Morgan, 40, had been charged with robbery, three counts theft by taking, and violation of oath by a public officer.

A spokesperson for the Carroll County Sheriff's Office said the office is assisting the coroner's office in a death investigation. No foul play is suspected. The cause of death appears to be a possible overdose, though police aren't willing to speculate whether it was accidental or intentional.

The Carroll County spokesperson said Morgan's body has been sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's crime lab for an autopsy.

Morgan, who was an officer with the Senoia Police Department and formerly a Newnan officer, was arrested Oct. 10 after Coweta law enforcement conducted a sting operation and discovered he was taking money during traffic stops.

The arrest came about after the Coweta County Sheriff's Office received complaints that U.S. currency was being taken by Officer Morgan, then of the Senoia Police Department. The robberies took place after individuals were arrested for traffic offenses, authorities said.

The GBI began a joint investigation with Senoia and Coweta, and an undercover operation was conducted. The undercover Hispanic GBI agent was stopped and arrested during the operation by Morgan. Police noticed that the money the agent had been carrying was missing by the time he arrived at the jail. Morgan was arrested at the Senoia Police Department without further incident.

Morgan had abruptly resigned as a Newnan officer on Aug. 5 after three years on the force -- and only one day after he was named Officer of the Year. The resignation came after a complainant informed the Newnan Police Department that Morgan had visited an online chat room Web site while on duty in his patrol car.

Newnan Police Chief Douglas "Buster" Meadows later said Morgan's resignation over the incident hadn't been requested, nor had anyone insinuated that it was needed. Morgan told officials that he had been planning to resign prior to the event for unnamed personal reasons.