When the sexual encounter was over and police officers were seconds away from storming into the room, the Sandy Springs detective told the woman she was under arrest. That question goes to the heart of a discrimination lawsuit that was recently filed against the Sandy Springs Police Department by the detective involved in the prostitution sting. In the lawsuit, among a number of other claims, Jamaal Mayberry alleges that he was unfairly targeted for punishment after being suspended for two days without pay because of his actions during three undercover prostitution investigations in An informal survey of law enforcement authorities, attorneys, academics and other officials turned up no definitive answer for the woman who was arrested during that undercover sting on August 19, But all of them were unanimous in their belief that Mayberry, the Sandy Springs Police Department and any other law enforcement officer in a similar situation should not cross that line during a prostitution investigation.
Mayberry claimed in the lawsuit that that sort of behavior was commonplace during vice investigations. He "was singled out," the suit said. His attorney, Curt Thompson, previously told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Mayberry had been treated differently because of his race but has since repeatedly declined further comment on the case.
A review of incident reports from other prostitution investigations from to discloses that no other Sandy Springs police officer went nearly as far as Mayberry to make an arrest. But the department's subsequent internal investigation also revealed Mayberry, who started working at the agency when it launched in July , and other officers did not receive training they requested before conducting the investigations.
Without addressing the lawsuit or those cases specifically, Sult said the department has made progress in the last few years. Sult noted that his officers now collaborate with state and federal agencies on most busts.
He also said the agency remains vigilant about going after prostitution and illegal massage parlors and spas. Mayberry reportedly had sexual contact with women in two previous sting operations in It was on his final bust on Aug.
