BEDFORD – The Bedford Board of Works and Safety accepted the resignation of Bedford Police Captain Morgan Lee after an investigation revealed that several department rules and regulations were violated.
Bedford Police Chief Terry Moore provided a timeline of events that led to the investigation. According to Bedford Police Chief Terry Moore on June 8, 2021, he received a written citizen complaint involving Captain Lee from an incident that occurred on January 8, 2021.
On June 9, 2021, Captain Lee was advised by Chief Moore in a written letter that he was mentioned in the complaint and that an internal investigation will be conducted into any department rules and regulations, and criminal law violations.
On June 21, 2021, after Captain Lee returned from a planned vacation, he was informed in writing that he would be placed on paid administrative leave as the department worked through the investigation process.
On June 25, 2021, the Board of Works met in a special meeting to discuss the complaint and voted to place Capt. Lee on paid administrative leave.
On July 8, 2021, Chief Moore met with Captain Lee and discussed the investigation that determined several department rules and regulations had been violated.
“I served Captain Lee notice of formal disciplinary charges which included each department procedure that was violated and recommendation to the department executive board for termination,” said Chief Moore. “I also informed him in a written letter a hearing date was scheduled following state law and he had five days to respond in writing if he wished to have a hearing in front of the Board of Works and Safety.”
Chief Moore received a letter the next day from Lee’s attorney requesting the hearing. Chief Moore then notified the City’s Attorney Greg Pittman of the hearing request. A hearing date was set for July 30, 2021.
On July 29, 2021, Chief Moore received a resignation letter from Captain Lee, stating that he wanted to pursue another career and job opportunities. Captain Lee wanted his resignation to go into effect on August 6, 2021.
“The Bedford Police Department takes all citizen’s complaints seriously. Complaints are investigated and dealt with accordingly. I wish Captain Morgan Lee well in his new career opportunity,” said Chief Moore.
Captain Lee is the second most recent resignation from the Bedford Police Department due to alleged misconduct.
Bedford Police Department Officer Jeremy Crane was charged with two Level 6 felony charges of official misconduct in April 2021. He has since resigned. He is scheduled to appear in Lawrence County Superior Court 1 for a pretrial conference on September 13 at 1 p.m.
