Chief talks about ‘bizarre’ sexual extortion allegations against fired officer

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    MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) — An early-morning incident by an off-duty Mobile police officer resulted in his dismissal and criminal charges, Interim Police Chief Roy Hodge said Monday.

The fired officer, Jamorris Cage, 27, faces two counts of sexual extortion.

“In my 38-year-career, I have never seen anything like this,” he said. “It has been described as bizarre.”

Hodge declined to divulge many details about the allegations. But he said they stem from an incident that occurred at about 4:30 a.m. in a city park.

“Mr. Cage was not on duty at the time,” he told FOX10 News. “However, he was in his police-issued uniform and operating his assigned vehicle when this incident occurred.”

Hodge said neither victim immediately reported the incident.

“Most likely out of embarrassment or disbelief,” he said.

Several days later, the chief said, one of the victims reported it to two other officers who were on call. They forwarded the report to their supervisor, and the department launched an internal affairs investigation, Hodge said.

The chief said the department placed Cage on paid administrative leave and then formally terminated him on Tuesday. The arrest followed three days later.

Hodge said Cage has 10 days from the date of his termination to appeal to the Mobile County Personnel Board.

According to the chief, Cage joined the force in the latter part of 2018 and completed the police academy in 2019. He said that during the officer’s roughly two years on the force, he had just one personnel infraction, a minor incident that did not result in time off.

Prior to joining the force, Cage worked as a corrections deputy and Mobile County Metro Jail. He was one of eight corrections officers named in a 2019 federal lawsuit filed by an inmate who suffered a stab wound inside the jail.

That civil complaint alleged that the officers were responsible for placing the plaintiff in a cell with a dangerous inmate and failed to intervene during the stabbing. Mobile County recently settled the suit.

Hodge said the department takes all allegations against his employees seriously.

“We immediately begin the investigation,” he said. “This one was unique in the fact that when the information was initially relayed to the patrol officers, we saw then if it were true that it would potentially involve criminal conduct.”

Cage is scheduled to appear for an arraignment in Mobile County District Court on May 5.

The chief said he much rather would be talking about something positive.

“Unfortunately, I’m having to talk to you about one of our members that committed a very, very egregious crime,” he said. “He stepped across the line on in numerous instances during this incident as it relates to departmental policy. It’s very frustrating because he violated the public’s trust. He violated his oath of office. And it’s not something, you know, that we take lightly.

“He for 2½ years wore the same badge that I wear and represented this department I would hope in the same manner that I do,” he continued. “But he chose not to do that, and that part is very frustrating. And he is going to be held responsible for violating the public’s trust.”

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