Chattanooga Police Department / Chattanooga Master Police Officer Ricky Ballard is under investigation and has been placed on leave, the department said. Ballard was suspended without pay in February 2019 after an internal investigation determined that he was sexually harassing female cadets, internal affairs documents revealed.A Chattanooga police officer is under investigation and on leave, the department said, four years after an internal investigation found extensive evidence of him harassing female cadets.
Ricky Ballard, a master police officer who has worked for the Chattanooga Police Department since 2013, is on paid administrative leave pending the completion of the internal investigation, Assistant Chief Jerri Sutton said by text Thursday.
A department investigation that began in 2018 found Ballard had sexually harassed multiple female cadets in four different classes of the police academy, which trains incoming officers.
(READ MORE: Another Chattanooga police officer suspended without pay after internal investigation)