MONTEZUMA, Ga. — Editors note: Video attached to this story comes from previous coverage.
A Macon County Sheriff candidate Jeffery Canady was taken off the ballot over issues with his POST certification earlier this month. But only a few days later, he was put back on the ballot after the Macon County Board of Elections reversed course.
However, a group of Macon County men are hoping a judge will reverse the Macon County Board of Election’s decision placing Canady back on the ballot. On Monday, they’ll go before the court to make their case.
According to court records, three Macon County citizens – Donald Chandler, Tommy Avery and Wayne Peavy – filed a letter in Macon County Superior Court on Aug. 16 arguing that Canady should not be on the ballot.
Removed and then reversed
The Macon County Board of Election Board voted unanimously on Aug. 2 to remove Canady after they learned that his POST certification, which is required to be a law enforcement officer, was suspended over a previous use of force case.
While working as a student resource officer at the county high school in 2019, Canady had a run-in with a student, a case summary showed.
Canady grabbed a female student after they hit him in the back, and he then pushed the student face-first into a wall and she fell to the ground, breaking her glasses, the summary alleges.
He pleaded guilty to using excessive force in 2023, according to the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council. On June 10, his POST certification was suspended.
When filing his application to run for sheriff in March before the decision was reached, he listed his POST certification as “pending.” Under Georgia law, a Sheriff has six months from their election to obtain a POST certification
Story continues beneath the document.
But on Aug. 6 – only five days after originally removing him from the ballot – the board of elections reversed their decision.
As it stands now, Canady is on the ballot despite his guilty plea. However, the lawsuit hopes to get a judge to reverse the board's decision.
Their day in court: Monday
The three petitioners say in their five-paragraph letter filed in court that, because Canady is unqualified for office, he should be removed from the ballot.
While candidates for sheriff do not need to have a POST certification to run, they need it to become sheriff. According to the residents filing the lawsuit, the state’s Peace Officer Standards and Training Council told them Canady could not file for a post-certification for another 2 years.
13WMAZ was not able to contact the council to confirm that.
If Canady wins and is not able to get his POST certification, he would then be removed from office, according to Georgia law.
The petitioners also claim that Canady lied on his application when he affirmed that he had “not been convicted of a felony offense or any offense involving moral turpitude.” Canady plead guilty to a misdemeanor.
However, State Rep. Patty Marie Stinson previously said she thought the board properly put Canady back on the back. In fact, she thought the original decision was a deviation from the law.
"My first question was, 'They based their decision on what law?'" Stinson previously told us.
RELATED: A candidate was disqualified from the Macon County sheriff election. Now, he's back on the ballot
House Bill 424, which previously failed in the statehouse, would have required a candidate for sheriff to be in good standing with the POST council. As of now, she says that is not the case.
"I just want to make sure that all the elections.... across the entire state of Georgia, are fair, consistent and according to code sections," Stinson said.
On Monday, a Muscogee County Judge Maureen Gottfried will hear their case, which was filed against the Macon County Board of Elections.
According to Macon County Superior Court Clerk Juanita Laidler, local judge Jimmy Brown recused himself on Wednesday.
The case will be heard at the Macon County Courthouse at 1 p.m.
You can read the lawsuit below:
