Clayton News Daily

By Kathy Jefcoats

kjefcoats@news-daily.com

ATLANTA — A Georgia Department of Transportation supervisor hurt himself while trying out for a job as a Clayton County police officer and lied to collect benefits, said officials.

Robert Louis Sims is being held in the Fulton County Jail on $15,000 bond on charges of insurance fraud and lying to collect workers compensation benefits, according to records.

Sims, 39, was arrested Monday at his job at the HERO Unit Headquarters on Plasters Avenue in Atlanta. Sims was a supervisor in the Highway Emergency Response Operator unit that dispatches trucks to disabled motorists on the state’s interstate system.

Director Stan Bexley of the State Board of Workers’ Compensation said Sims is charged with one count of insurance fraud and two counts of making false and misleading statements for the purpose of getting benefits.

The enforcement division of the state agency received a complaint alleging Sims claimed to have suffered a work-related injury to his right knee as a result of falling from a state-owned HERO truck.

However, officials said, an investigation showed Sims hurt his knee while undergoing an agility test as an applicant for the Clayton County Police Department.

Sims should be considered innocent until proven guilty.