A class of Georgia state troopers has been dismissed after cheating on a key exam

An entire class of Georgia state troopers was implicated in a cheating scandal that resulted in large scale disciplinary actions.

The training academy class of 2019 reportedly cheated on their radar gun test, which is a critical step in graduating from the training academy.

All 33 cadets were found to have violated the code of conduct form that they signed at the beginning of the course to maintain academic integrity.

“It’s a punch in the gut,” Georgia Department of Public Safety Commissioner Col. Mark W. McDonough said during a press conference.

Of the 33 original members of the class, one resigned, one is on military leave, and another was previously dismissed before the investigation was complete. This means all the remaining troopers were dropped from the force on Wednesday, according to McDonough.

“Investigators found that the cadets utilized written or typed notes, received direct assistance from another cadet on test answers, utilized test questions and answers posted by a cadet on the GroupMe messaging application, and queued an internet search engine for questions and answers,” McDonough said.

“Additionally, two Snapchat groups were created which included several members of the class that facilitated this activity.”

During trooper school, the cadets spent 20 weeks at the academy and 12 weeks in field training, according to release from the department in August after they graduated. The newly graduated troopers then received more than 1,500 hours of training.

The troopers were assigned to several posts throughout the state.

“Our whole mode is to produce an officer that the public can trust … so this goes to our very core values and so it is something that is difficult to swallow,” McDonough said.