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Gov. Deal Appoints Panel To Investigate Walton Sheriff’s Arrest

July 12th, 2017

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal speaks at a memorial ceremony on the first day of the legislative session for five Georgia Southern University nursing students who were killed in an April 2015 car accident, at the state Capitol Monday, Jan. 11, 2016, in Atlanta. The five students died in a chain-reaction crash while commuting to a … Continued

Law enforcement officials are investigating whether to suspend a Georgia sheriff who was arrested in connection to a confrontation in a Florida bar.

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Gov. Nathan Deal signed an executive order Wednesday instructing a panel to investigate Walton County Sheriff Joseph Chapman.

State law allows the governor to convene a panel of two sheriffs and the state attorney general to investigate and to recommend whether a sheriff facing criminal or ethics charges should be suspended.

News outlets report Chapman and one of his deputies were arrested in May 2016 in Carrabelle, Florida. They were charged with battery, but the charges were later changed to disorderly conduct and were dismissed last week upon completion of a “deferred prosecution agreement.”

Georgia Sheriff’s Association executive director Terry Norris tells WGCL-TV he asked the governor to appoint the investigatory panel.