Former Cop Gets Probation For Lying During Investigation

CANTON, GA — A former officer with the Canton Police Department has accepted a plea deal stemming from allegations that he lied to his superiors about whether he had a sexual encounter with a woman while on duty.

Kenneth Dale Furman last week entered a nolo contendere plea to making a false statement and was sentenced to two years on probation, Cherokee County court records show. Furman will also have to pay a $1,000 fine and applicable probationary fees, perform 40 hours of community service and have no contact with the woman in question.

A Cherokee County grand jury indicted Kenneth Dale Furman in February 2018 on one count of making a false statement to two officers during an investigation into his actions.

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Canton Police Chief Mark Mitchell said the department launched an internal investigation in August 2016 after it received information that Furman allegedly had sexual intercourse with a woman while on duty. During the investigation, Mitchell said both the former officer and the woman denied the relationship.

However, about a month later, officers were contacted by the woman who admitted she "had lied to us," the chief said. When pressed by investigators, Mitchell said Furman admitted he was "not truthful" about his relationship. While they were not able to prove any misconduct happened while the former cop was on duty, Mitchell said Furman had a duty to tell the truth and, thus, was terminated from the Canton Police Department on Nov. 3, 2016.

Furman, of Canton, served with the police department for roughly four years before he was fired from the post, the chief added. Mitchell told Patch officers informed the Georgia Bureau of Investigation of its findings. That agency launched an investigation, and turned the case over to the Cherokee County District Attorney's Office, which decided to bring the case before a grand jury.

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