The Durham police officer who was put on administrative leave for selling counterfeit items is back on duty.
George McClain, a patrol lieutenant and shift supervisor for the Durham County Sheriff’s Office, was put on paid leave March 8 after an undercover officer purchased a fraudulent handbag from McClain’s La Fondita restaurant, located on Avondale Drive in Durham. McClain returned to duty March 15, said Richard Buchanan, major of operations for the Sheriff’s Office.
Special Agent Daran Dodd with the North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, filed the warrant March 8 to search the business after an undercover investigator acted on a complaint regarding the sale of “counterfeit trademarked items including handbags and cologne.”
The undercover investigator, who was not named, purchased a handbag with the Coach trademark for $55. The bag was subsequently examined and determined to be a fake.
“No charges have been made against him,” Buchanan said. “Based on our internal investigations and the fact that there were no charges filed, there was no reason to keep him at home.”
Buchanan noted that McClain was not at the restaurant when the search occurred.
“It was standard procedure, not reactionary,” Buchanan said. “Under any circumstance where there is a criminal investigation involving one of our officers we have to put them on leave until things get resolved.”
This prompted Dodd to file an application for a search warrant, which was approved and led to McClain’s eventual administrative leave.
Dodd said he could not comment due to nature of the ongoing investigations.
Liz Proctor, public information officer for the North Carolina Secretary of State, confirmed that no charges had been filed and that the investigations were still in progress. Proctor added that an officer from the Durham County Alcoholic Beverage Control Board was also present at the search, noting that there were some “separate issues” with liquor licenses.
Durham ABC officers were not available for comment after several attempts.
McClain has been with the Durham County Sheriff’s office since 1995.
McClain’s restaurant is still in business. An employee from the establishment declined to comment, but did say that McClain was almost never there.
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