HAWKINSVILLE, Ga. — It’s been eight months since Governor Brian Kemp appointed a three-person committee to investigate whether Pulaski County’s Sheriff is fit to hold office.
He asked the members to report back to him within 30 days -- by August 7, 2022.
The three committee members, including Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, won’t say what they’ve learned about Sheriff Danny Brannen or why they’re still investigating.
Georgia law allows the Governor to appoint a three-person group to look into complaints against sheriffs. That can include crimes, misconduct, or alleged incapacity of the sheriff to perform the functions of his office.
Kemp’s order says the Georgia’s Sheriff’s Association informed him that Brannen was not performing his duties “due to incapacity”.
In a letter dated July 8, 2022, the Governor named AG Carr, Newton County Sheriff Ezell Brown, and Columbia Sheriff Clay Whittle to investigate.
13WMAZ sent records requests this month to all three members and to Kemp’s office. Each responded no records were available.
On March 2, Kara Richardson, Carr’s communication director, wrote by email, “We have not yet provided a report to the Governor as the committee’s investigation is still ongoing.”
We followed up with a request to interview Carr about the status of the investigation and why they didn’t meet Kemp’s 30-day deadline.
She says the Attorney General’s Office is unable to comment on pending investigations. “For this same reason, the Attorney General will be unable to sit for an interview,” Richardson wrote by email.
After several calls to Brannen, reporter Ashlyn Webb stopped by the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office Wednesday, asking to interview the sheriff. He was not at the office.
13WMAZ stopped by Brannen’s home Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. to see if he wanted to comment on the investigation.
He claimed he was unaware the Governor launched an investigation last year. Brannen also says he doesn’t know why he would be under investigation.
So far, there’s no confirmation on why Sheriff Brannen is under investigation.
Brannen, a longtime Pulaski deputy, was elected sheriff in 2016 and re-elected four years later.
The state’s investigation was launched just eight months after five Pulaski County inmates escaped from the jail in November 2021. Two of the escaped inmates were murder suspects. The escape launched a statewide search including several law enforcement agencies, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Marshals.
“I don't think I have ever heard of five inmates getting out at one time, So yeah, it's embarrassing. It sure is," Brannen said, "But there ain't nothing you can do about it. They done gone out.”
Then in April 2021, a black former Pulaski County deputy’s civil case ended up in the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The man sued for wrongful termination and wrongful arrest when Brannen was a captain in Pulaski County.
The former deputy alleged that Brannen was a "blatant racist" who insisted on him being fired for no reason.
The appeal states:
"Brannen demonstrated racial bias against African Americans by using the word “n***er” to refer to African Americans on several occasions and by making other racially derogatory comments while on the job at the Sheriff’s Office."
The appeal notes that Brannen denies making such comments.
The appeal reads, during a dispute with an African American businessman about whether the man had a business license, Brannen said to the man, “You know how you can tell if a black person is lying?” When the man’s wife responded, “How?” Brannen said, “If they are black and moving their lips.”
The three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled the deputy was likely the victim of discrimination and sent the case back for trial. Brannen and the county settled with the deputy.
This is a developing story. Reporter Ashlyn Webb will have more on the story tonight at 6.