On Dec. 22, 2015, Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Garmon was arrested and charged with child cruelty, accused of shaking his infant son so hard he fractured the boy’s skull and caused bleeding on the brain.
The sheriff’s department placed Garmon on paid administrative leave, but within two weeks of the felony arrest he was back at work as a jailer. Last month, the department forced Garmon’s resignation after he entered a plea deal that requires him to serve 20 years probation.
But in the weeks following his departure a question hung over the case: Why did Sheriff Butch Conway allow a deputy to work in his jail for nearly three years in the face of credible abuse allegations?
A review of the case by The AJC found the sheriff’s department and Garmon both failed to notify the state’s law enforcement certification agency of his case until more than 2 1/2 years after the arrest. State guidelines require a certified deputy and their agency to notify the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council anytime an officer is arrested.
In addressing the AJC’s findings, Conway’s spokeswoman now publicly acknowledges the department’s mistake and said a policy has been implemented to ensure proper notification occurs in the future.