Alex O’Connor Ross: From School Resource Deputy to an Alleged Attack Inside Georgia POST

Walton County Sheriff’s Office · Georgia POST · Austell, Georgia

Reporting note: This investigation separates allegations, school reports, administrative findings, employment actions, POST records and criminal charges. Criminal charges are accusations unless and until proven in court. Where a document relays what another person said, Shields of Shame identifies it as a reported statement rather than presenting it as independently established fact.

Before the school case: a 2020 disciplinary warning

Ross’s Walton County master personnel record shows he was hired as a detention officer on March 18, 2019. A June 16, 2020 entry documents a written reprimand following two inmate grievances involving strip searches. According to the agency’s personnel narrative, the complaints were investigated and described as substantiated and verified by Ross’s admission. The same record also states investigators found no criminal intent and concluded the touching did not rise to sexual assault.

The personnel entry says Ross received remedial training on proper inmate searches and a written reprimand. It also warned that future conduct of that type could lead to more serious discipline, including possible termination. Six months later, the personnel history records his promotion to deputy.

March 2022: Ross moves into Youth Services

The personnel table records a March 28, 2022 lateral transfer into Youth Services. Georgia POST’s later training history lists a 40-hour School Resource Officer course completed April 22, 2022. That matters because the events that followed centered not on a jail or roadside stop, but on Ross’s interactions with elementary-school students.

September 2022: school staff were already asking for help

A September 14–15 Walton County School District email thread titled “advice needed” predates the October complaint that would become central to Ross’s internal investigation. Dr. Susan Queen wrote that the resource officer had been at the school in the afternoons and relayed a staff report that children had been allowed to play with handcuffs, including handcuffing themselves together, handle a baton, and touch the officer’s gun.

Queen asked whether she should speak with the officer herself. Principal Alicia Burford responded that the concerns were valid and wrote that she would speak with Deputy Ross and his supervisor about the behavior with students. The next morning Queen followed up by asking whether Ross was supposed to be on campus at that time of day and whether he was available for situations that might arise.

October 5: a student report changes the case

Darlene Morgan sent Assistant Principal Ginger Antwine an email at 1:30 p.m. on October 5, 2022. Morgan wrote that Ross had previously wondered how old a student was because she “looked older.” Morgan then documented what she said the student told her that day: Ross had approached with his phone open to Notes, said words to the effect of not wanting to freak her out, and showed her a message containing the word “Beautiful.”

Morgan’s email matters because of its timing. It was written on the day of the reported cellphone interaction, before the later employment and POST proceedings. But part of it records what Morgan says the student told her, not something Morgan says she personally saw.

Antwine’s October 5 memorandum documents a subsequent conversation with the student. According to that memorandum, the student described a paragraph on Ross’s phone containing comments about her appearance and language indicating he did not want to make her uncomfortable. Antwine wrote that Principal Burford entered the room and heard the student give the same account, and that another staff member obtained a written statement.

October 6: the principal broadens the concerns

On October 6, Principal Burford wrote Major Vinson. Her letter did not limit itself to the cellphone allegation. She said she wanted him aware of other concerns that had arisen during the school year.

The letter describes reports or observations involving students handling police equipment, a parent complaint about a conversation involving rape and sex with a third-grade child, Ross remaining around students after school, concerns about him standing alone with female students, candy being available from his office area, emergency-light driving near the school, a firearm being taken apart or cleaned in the glass-windowed office, and lunchroom conduct that Burford considered inappropriate or immature.

These are not all the same kind of evidence. Some passages describe what Burford says she observed; others relay information from parents, students or staff. The underlying witness statements, video and interview recordings are therefore critical.

The Internal Affairs file: video, interviews and Ross’s response

The Walton County IA summary says investigators reviewed school video. According to that summary, the footage showed Ross approaching the student, handing her his cellphone, the student looking at it, and returning it. The summary says Ross initially denied showing a student a cellphone message. It then says that after supervisors showed him the video, Ross acknowledged giving her the phone to view and characterized the message as an effort to let her know he would be there if she needed anything.

The IA overview also references an October 7 forensic interview at A Child’s Voice Child Advocacy Center. According to the summary, the student described more than one interaction and said one message included language that she was the prettiest girl in the world and that Ross hoped it did not make her uncomfortable.

The same IA summary folds in earlier school concerns, including student access to equipment and the parent complaint involving a conversation about rape. It also incorporates Burford’s broader concerns about conduct at the school.

Termination, resignation—and a later change in how the separation was recorded

The employment packet documents a sequence that deserves careful wording. An October 5 memorandum placed Ross on paid administrative leave. An October 21 notice states that his employment was terminated based on the results of the internal investigation and cites professional-image and conduct standards. Ross submitted a resignation letter dated October 22.

On October 24, Chief Deputy Keith Brooks issued a memorandum stating Ross would be allowed to resign in lieu of termination and that the document would replace the October 21 termination letter.

An April 20, 2023 memorandum to Georgia POST Director Mike Ayers later states that Ross’s C-11 would be revised to show Voluntary Resignation through a negotiated settlement. A database field saying “voluntary resignation” therefore should not be read in isolation from the underlying personnel records.

A new sheriff’s office

Georgia POST records show Ross next worked as a deputy with the Towns County Sheriff’s Office from May 22 to July 3, 2023, ending in another entry labeled voluntary resignation. The profile provides the dates but does not, by itself, explain what Towns County knew about the Walton County investigation or what occurred during the short employment period. Ross’s application, background investigation, references, POST checks and separation records are the next records trail.

2025: Georgia POST acts

The Georgia POST profile supplied to Shields of Shame lists Ross’s Basic Law Enforcement and Jailer certifications as “Suspended (POST Sanction)”. It also shows a final action dated April 11, 2025 with 36 months probation. The profile separately lists a June 2, 2025 investigation as Under Investigation / Assigned.

Public reporting adds context. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that POST suspended Ross’s certification for 36 months and that Ross filed an appeal in April 2025. The exact final POST orders and appeal record remain important because a profile is a status snapshot.

June 2, 2025: violence alleged inside the POST office

The story then takes an extraordinary turn. According to WSB-TV and the AJC, Ross went to the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council office in Austell regarding his certification. Authorities alleged that he became violent and attacked three women—two certified peace officers and a civilian POST employee.

Austell police told WSB-TV that officers heard cries for help. When they arrived, police said Ross had his hand on an officer’s holstered firearm and was trying to remove it. Authorities alleged Ross punched or struck the women; one peace officer suffered a fractured facial bone, and all three victims were hospitalized.

The AJC reported that Ross was arrested on multiple felony charges, including two counts of willful obstruction of law-enforcement officers, aggravated battery and violation of oath by a public officer, along with battery and disorderly-conduct counts. Those charges are allegations unless established by a plea or verdict.

Court Watch: what Shields of Shame is tracking

Shields of Shame is following the Cobb County criminal case for new filings, hearings and a final disposition. Until the court record establishes an outcome, this page will continue to describe the June 2025 conduct as alleged.

The most important future records include charging documents and warrants, indictment or accusation, bond orders, motions, plea paperwork if any, trial filings if the case proceeds to trial, and the final sentencing or dismissal record.

The arrest history can unlock another layer of accountability reporting

Shields of Shame also obtained a list of arrests associated with Ross during his Walton County service. That list is not a finding of misconduct. Its value is practical: it supplies dates, names, incident numbers and other identifiers that can be used to request corresponding body-worn camera, incident reports and CAD records.

The CAD can add dispatch times, call type, unit assignments and status changes. The incident or arrest report supplies the written narrative and charging information. Body-camera footage can then be compared with both. Used together, those sources allow viewers to evaluate an encounter rather than relying on one narrative.

What the records establish—and what remains unanswered

• Documented: Walton County personnel records contain a 2020 written reprimand and later promotion.
• Documented: school emails show concerns being discussed with administrators before the October 2022 investigation.
• Documented: Walton County records show termination paperwork, Ross’s resignation, resignation in lieu of termination, and a later C-11 revision tied to a negotiated settlement.
• Documented: Georgia POST records show later certification sanctions and subsequent investigative activity.
• Alleged in the criminal case: Ross attacked three women at the POST office and attempted to remove an officer’s holstered firearm.
• Still to establish: the final disposition of the Cobb County criminal case and the complete procedural record for the POST sanction and appeal.

Methodology and source note

This investigation is built from Walton County personnel and Internal Affairs records, Walton County School District communications, Georgia POST records, the annotated source packets listed above, and public reporting about the June 2025 arrest. Shields of Shame will update the court-watch portion when new filings or a disposition are confirmed.

Editorial disclaimer: Shields of Shame reports on matters of public interest using public records, attributed statements and documented administrative actions. Criminal charges are allegations unless proven in court. Administrative discipline is not a criminal conviction. Readers with corrections or additional primary-source records are encouraged to provide documentation.