Cop Fired, Allegedly Supplied BLM Protesters with Intel on Other Officers

A Lexington, Kentucky, police officer was fired early Friday for leaking inside information about police to a Black Lives Matter protest leader.

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council announced that after a nine-hour hearing and two hours of deliberations it had sided with Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers in his recommendation to fire officer Jervis Middleton, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. Middleton was convicted on two of the three charges against him.

Middleton was accused of funneling information to Sarah Williams, a friend of his who was also a leader of weeks of protests over the death of Breonna Taylor. Middleton had said the information he disclosed did not jeopardize the safety of any officers.

Middleton’s “conduct during a highly stressful and potentially vulnerable time during the history of our community — the most significant policing event in our community in 20 years — demonstrates that he should no longer be a police officer,” Keith Horn, a lawyer for the city, said.

“The allegations against Officer Middleton is that he provided information that could be used to insult, intimidate and harass our officers while they were working the protests,” Weathers said.

The incident was not the first time Middleton was disciplined, he added.

According to the Herald-Leader, Middleton had been accused in 2019 of “using police computers to get information about a woman who had accused him of stalking and spying on her after their sexual relationship ended.”

A jury acquitted Middleton of official misconduct in that case, but he also faced an internal misconduct investigation, the Herald-Leader reported. Before an official disciplinary hearing started, Middleton accepted a demotion from sergeant to officer, the Herald-Leader reported.