Former Lilburn Police Officer Indicted For Touching, Videotaping Woman

LILBURN, GA — A grand jury has indicted a former Lilburn police officer accused of inappropriately touching and videotaping a woman while on duty.

Gary Livingston, 34, was indicted Wednesday on two counts of unlawful surveillance, one count of simple battery and one count of violation of oath of office.

Livingston worked as an officer with the Lilburn Police Department from April 2013 until he was fired on June 15, 2016.

At 6:48 a.m. on May 25, Livingston and another officer responded to an alarm call at an apartment complex in Lilburn. They spoke with the property manager, confirmed a false alarm and left at 6:51 a.m.

Minutes later, Livingston allegedly returned to the complex and chatted with the 31-year-old, female property manager.

He is alleged to have chatted with the manager , then asked her to participate in what he called a college psychology course project.

"He is then alleged to have proceeded to ask her to simulate that she was asleep and made physical contact with her as she did this, all while he videotaped this with his personal cell phone," according to the Lilburn Police Department internal investigation report.

According to the report, Livingston touched the woman's arm, head and shoulders as she pretended to sleep.

Afterward, she called 911 at 7:10 a.m. A sergeant from the Lilburn Police Department responded and interviewed the manager, who reported being "very uneasy and frightened."

At 10 a.m. that day, Chief Bruce Hedley ordered that Livingston be placed on suspension with pay, pending the results of an internal investigation.

"The complainant specifically said that she was in fear for her safety and noted had you not been in uniform, she would not have consented to your requests," Hedley wrote in Livingston's termination letter at the conclusion of the investigation.

The case was turned over to the Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office and presented to the grand jury on November 16.

Hedley said he was shocked and disappointed by Livingston's alleged actions.

"As soon as the incident was reported, the department removed this officer from duty and conducted a thorough investigation," he said in a news release. "It is a privilege and an honor to wear this uniform. The Lilburn Police Department will terminate any officer who abuses that privilege."

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