SHIELDS OF SHAME | CHEROKEE COUNTY INVESTIGATION
Christopher Adam Shepherd: School Recruiting Event, Internal Affairs and POST Questions
A high-school recruiting event became the focus of a sheriff’s office investigation involving students, handcuffs and a service firearm.
Agency: Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office · IA: 2022-00013 · Case date: April 18, 2022
What happened at the recruiting event?
Christopher Adam Shepherd was representing the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office at a high-school recruiting event. The original case account describes Shepherd placing students in handcuffs and allowing students to handle his service firearm. These allegations raise serious questions about safe equipment handling, supervision and professional judgment at an event intended to introduce young people to law-enforcement careers. The available page does not establish that a student was injured.
Internal Affairs investigation 2022-00013
The agency investigated the incident in case 2022-00013. The source reporting identifies Investigator Garcia and includes interview footage and photographs. Interviews, witness observations and agency policy should be considered together; an interview question alone does not prove misconduct.
Resignation and certification
The original case identifies Shepherd’s employment separation as resignation in lieu of termination and reports Georgia POST decertification in 2022. A resignation and a certification action are distinct administrative outcomes, not proof of a criminal conviction. Readers should consult the source record for the precise scope and date of each action.
Watch the original reporting
Case video 1
Case video 2
Case video 3
Source documents
Officer Lilian Lizette Rojas
The original case also features Officer Lilian Lizette Rojas, whose resignation is reported as occurring in June 2022. Her employment and certification record must be evaluated independently. Her inclusion here does not mean that she received the same findings or penalties as Shepherd.
Photographic evidence and interview stills
All photographs below are linked to the original Shields of Shame media library. Select an image to inspect it in a separate tab.
Original case photograph 4 — view full image ↗
Why this investigation matters
When law enforcement recruits at schools, officers are expected to exercise care with both students and their equipment. Public access to Internal Affairs reports, certification records and interview footage makes it possible to evaluate the agency’s response and distinguish allegations from established administrative findings.
Related academy graduation reporting ↗
Original Shields of Shame case page ↗
Editorial note: Original photographs, videos and documents remain hosted at their original URLs. Administrative findings should not be confused with criminal convictions.