MEIGS, Ga. — Details from an internal investigation allege a Meigs police officer who resigned last week was claiming he worked more hours than he actually spent on duty.

Police Chief Darrell Laster — who himself was terminated Monday night by Meigs City Council — said Capt. Donald McNeil, who voluntarily submitted a handwritten resignation Feb. 11, was appropriating time without working.

“Captain McNeil was coming into work, clocking in, and then not calling dispatch to report that he was on duty for probably four to five hours at a time,” Laster said.

Nearly all of the alleged activity occurred on weekends.

McNeil was one of two full-time police officers in Meigs, along with Laster. The city also employs one part-time officer.

Laster said city council member Edward Eason informed him in a recorded phone call in August 2018 that the council believed someone under his command was accumulating unworked time, which began the investigation.

The police chief said he then informed his staff to be mindful of when they clocked into work and reported for duty and he began monitoring clock activity.

Laster’s report of the investigation stated he discovered at least four instances where McNeil’s clock-in time and call-in time differed from as little as two hours, 32 minutes to as much as five hours, 36 minutes.

The police chief said he collected two weeks’ worth of video, audio and written documentation of McNeil’s alleged activity before confronting him.

The report stated McNeil claimed he was entering hand-written traffic tickets at the police station during the disputed time periods after he was confronted by Laster.

Video logs of the dates in dispute show McNeil arriving at the police station to clock in and then leaving. McNeil did not return to the station until the time he called into dispatch to report for duty.

Recorded audio of McNeil contacting dispatch note the times he reported for duty.

Laster asked for McNeil to submit his resignation Aug. 31.

McNeil asked Laster if he could wait for the end of the day for a decision on whether to resign. Laster said he granted McNeil’s request in good faith.

The police chief said he then had second thoughts about terminating the officer when he received pushback from the city council over the course of five months.

“He didn’t resign at the time, and I got a lot of flak from the council and the mayor about it,” Laster said. “I kind of just decided to let it go at the time because of the flak I was getting about it.”

Laster said multiple residents aware of the situation became concerned he was keeping an officer on staff who was allegedly not working while on duty.

The report states Laster informed Mayor Cheryl Walters of his decision to proceed with McNeil’s termination the morning of Feb. 7.

McNeil was then placed on administrative leave later that day, sparking a residents’ gathering the following afternoon when they became concerned over the lack of police coverage.

Laster said he asked McNeil to voluntarily resign again the following Monday and the officer complied.

The police chief said he likely would be submitting his investigation’s findings to the Georgia Peace Officer Standard and Training (POST) Council.

Laster said it would ultimately be up to the POST Council to determine if McNeil should face any possible punishment, such as being placed on probation or having his law enforcement certification revoked.

The police chief said he and fellow officer Antonio Mango were working as many shifts as possible until an additional officer could begin work.

Laster said he had received applications from at least two potential officers and was conducting background checks as rapidly as possible.