An FBI spokesperson confirmed Monday afternoon that the agency is looking into allegations that special agent Ken Hillman abused his power in order to receive special treatment from local police officers during alleged DUI stops over the past couple of years.

Following the firing of a Ringgold police sergeant in mid-February for giving Hillman a ride out of state while he was apparently intoxicated instead of arresting him, other alleged instances of similar behavior have come to light during the past week involving current and former employees of the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office.

Last week, a former sheriff’s deputy who now works with the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department told his boss that he had encountered agent Hillman during one of the incidents in question, and that Hillman called a detective to come pick him up after he had been in an apparent wreck while driving intoxicated.

Although the FBI had remained quiet on the matter over the course of the past two weeks, special agent and agency spokesman Stephen Emmett released a prepared statement Monday acknowledging an investigation of Hillman.

“The FBI is aware of the allegations made against one of our special agents and we have launched an investigation into those allegations,” Emmett said.

Hillman has been head of the Northwest Georgia Crimes Against Children Task Force for the past few years.

The task force consists of undercover officers who communicate with people online through chat rooms and ads looking to weed out those look-ing to arrange meetings for underage sex.

The FBI hasn’t stated whether the task force is currently operating in light of the Hillman investigation.

“It should be noted that child exploitation and crimes against children matters remain a priority within our criminal investigative programs and within the FBI Atlanta division, and those matters will continue to be addressed.”

On Feb. 15, then-Ringgold police sergeant Tom Evans was fired from his department after an internal investigation revealed he did not arrest, did not report, and instead taxied agent Hillman and two women to Chattanooga after employees of a local restaurant called police saying the trio was intoxicated and attempting to drive away on Oct 24.

Since then, the revelations that Hillman may have coaxed other officers into giving him the same treatment has prompted local defense attorney McCracken Poston into requesting that Catoosa County sheriff Gary Sisk and Fort Oglethorpe police chief David Eubanks bring in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) to investigate the officers that may have taken part in not reporting Hillman’s alleged transgressions of using his badge as a way of getting off the hook during incidents of drinking and driving. Neither Sisk nor Eubanks have agreed to Poston’s requests.