Former Dunwoody police office honored in US Capitol for being whistleblower

DUNWOODY, Ga. — A former Dunwoody police officer who gained national attention for his efforts as a whistleblower just returned from Washington, DC where he was honored for his work.

On July 30, Austin Handle, 29, traveled to Capitol Hill, where he spoke in front of a crowd in honor of National Whistleblower Day.

“It was surreal and an amazing experience,” Handle said. “Looking back, it was just an honor to be there.”

Handle was fired from the Dunwoody Police Department in 2020 after the department launched an investigation into whether he used his patrol vehicle’s lights and sirens to speed through his neighborhood.

Officials accused Handle of lying to them during the department’s internal investigation. They also tried to prevent him from collecting unemployment benefits.

In 2023, Handle won an unemployment appeal and the Georgia Department of Labor awarded him more than $10,000. State officials ruled that the claims against him were “baseless.”

“This is not a problem that’s just isolated to Dunwoody, Georgia,” he said. “This is a problem nationwide.”

“If you’re afraid that you’re going to be retaliated against for speaking your opinion, especially as a certified peace officer, then at that point, obviously there’s a problem in the organization,” Handle added.

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Handle, who has since moved out of state, is using social media to reach other officers who are faced with similar situations.

In fact, he currently serves as a board member for The Lamplighter Project, a nonprofit that serves as a support group for police whistleblowers.

“People have sought assistance from us in places like Illinois to California and even to the Royal (Canadian) Mounted Police in Canada,” he said.

“We live in a world, where people never know when the right time to speak up is,” Handle said. “They’re always told ‘it’s never the right time. It’s never the right place. It’s never the right method.’ I think that’s something we’re trying to tear the barriers down around. It’s always the right time to report misconduct; it’s always the right time to do the right thing.”

Channel 2 Action News reached out to city officials and the communications director Jennifer Boettcher sent the following statement: “The city denies Mr. Handle’s allegations and will not comment on potential litigation,” she wrote.

Handle said that he enjoys working with officers on a daily basis, but his heart remains in law enforcement, so he hopes to find a policing job with another agency.

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