Woman who accused VA police second-in-command of sexual assault asks FBI for closure

ATLANTA – The victim of an alleged sexual abuse of the Atlanta Veterans Administration Medical Center is calling on the government to hurry up and rule on her case.

Shaneka Jackson says she’s frustrated by the constant back-and-forth with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It’s been two and a half years she has filed her complaint at the VA’s EEO office, and more than a year since her last appeal.

The trial is taking so long that the man she accused, former Atlanta VA Deputy Police Chief Johnnie McCullor, has already retired.

“I’m sure I’m still going to be traumatized by this, but now that this is still going on and open, I’m concerned,” Jackson, a former VA police dispatcher, told FOX 5 I Team. “I just don’t know what’s going to happen, and I really want to know the end of this.”

When the Veterans Affairs Office of the Senior Security Officer investigated her allegations more than two years ago, it came down on her side, calling her reports “accurate and truthful.” According to the investigation results, staff described McCullor as “vindictive, condescending, toxic and with a reputation as a ‘womanizer.’ The report also said his behavior gave the appearance of “a romantic interest in Jackson.”

However, her EEO investigation, conducted by a different division, was a different matter.

An alleged attack

Jackson, a retired Air Force military police officer and mother of three, says she hasn’t been the same since what happened to her. Once an outgoing, career-oriented mother of three, she now says she hardly leaves her home.

“I still suffer from daily panic attacks, anxiety and things like that,” Jackson said. “I can’t have relationships anymore. I don’t trust men anymore, so to speak.”

Among other allegations, Jackson alleged that McCullor feigned interest in her career and helped her get a job at Culpepper & Associates Security, a private security firm that the Atlanta VA also uses.

But one day in 2021, Jackson alleged, while alone with her in his office, McCullor allegedly closed the door, exposed himself and groped her, saying, “I told you it would cost you.” ‘

McCullor denied all of her claims when he met with EEO investigators. He did not respond to messages from the I-Team about this story.

Despite the findings of the VA Senior Security Officer’s investigation, McCullor remained the second-in-command of the police force. The VA told the I-Team in a statement that “disciplinary actions were taken in response to substantiated claims,” but would not elaborate.

The VA is still investigating reports of dysfunction inside the police department, but it can’t affect McCullor now because he retired in June.

Jackson continues to pursue her EEOC appeal however, because that agency, which enforces workplace discrimination and harassment laws, could have the VA pay her compensatory damages.

“All I ask is that they complete the process,” Jackson said. “I have nightmares about things that have occurred to me, especially this incident that happened, the sexual assault.”

She filed her EEO complaint with the VA two and a half years ago, but an administrative law judge threw it out, saying it was not filed in a timely manner and that she was not a VA employee when most of her allegations occurred.

Jackson appealed to the EEOC, which handles complaints in federal workplaces. The appeal was rejected and subsequently appealed again. She argued that Culpepper entered into a contract with the VA, essentially placing her under the authority of the Atlanta Police VA and its top officials.

“I was a VA employee,” Jackson told the I-Team. “If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have had a VA employee ID.”

Atlanta Employment Lawyer Amanda Farahany The fear of lengthy legal proceedings is common among women who have been sexually harassed and traumatized. Jackson is not her client, but Farahany said she appears to be doing the right thing: keeping attention on her case and hoping the government acts more quickly.

“Especially with the EEOC, it takes a long time to get through the process,” Farahany said. “They don’t have enough money, there aren’t enough people, and because of the things that have happened during Covid, they are even more supported than before.”

Her letter to EEOC

When Jackson’s appeal turned one year old this month, she sent a letter to the EEOC Office of Federal Operations.

“Please explain what happens with an EEOC case or appeal if the defendant resigns,” she wrote, later adding, “It’s been over a year – that’s 365 days of suffering. I am the victim. I just want impartial justice and honest help. Please help.”

She received a response earlier this month saying her case remains open, explaining the process and saying: “Please be assured that the appeal is processed in a fair and equitable manner. Thank you for your continued patience.”

The I-Team contacted the EEOC for this story, but received a curt response: “We cannot comment on a pending appeal.”

Meanwhile, Jackson isn’t the only one still waiting for closure. Other current and former police department employees have pending EEO complaints, and the VA has not yet completed its internal investigation into the department’s troubled culture, which has seen the police chief, Beverly Banks, suspended with pay.

After that investigation, the FOX 5 I-Team started in May obtained an audio recording from a 2023 command staff meeting, facilitated by an officer present, in which Chief Banks was heard telling staff, “I don’t want to hire any more Black women.”

“I don’t have any Spanish women,” she is also heard saying. “Damn, I don’t want them either.”

Retired VA Police Officer David Bennett has his own EEO complaint pending, accusing Banks of disclosing confidential information about him during a morning meeting. He is still in touch with his former colleagues and says the department remains in limbo because no one knows if Banks will return.

“Collectively, everyone wants to see change,” Bennett said. ‘They have a moral problem. The only way you can solve that is from the top down.’