Deputies Cleared of Criminal Wrongdoing in Bannister DUI Arrest

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - The deputies who arrested Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister on DUI charges in June have been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing. Charges were dropped against Bannister when blood test showed there was no alcohol in his system.

Bannister was pulled over leaving a Lilbu restaurant. Deputies said they saw him driving erratically, and the arresting deputy said he did not believe the results of the breathalyzer exam, which Bannister passed, were correct.

Gwinnett County District Attoey Daniel Porter said Tuesday he has completed his review of the 200-plus page GBI investigation into the DUI arrest of Chairman Charles Bannister, and he determined that the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department did not violate any criminal laws in the case. Porter pointed out that he did not consider whether there were any policy violations or grounds for a civil suit in the case.

The following statement was released by Porter:

”I have completed my review of the investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Charles Bannister by the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Department. The investigation was conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation at the request of Sheriff Butch Conway.

It should first be noted that the scope of my review was limited to one purpose – to determine whether or not any member of the Sheriff’s Department violated any criminal laws in the course of the arrest or subsequent investigation. Except where it would be relevant to a criminal charge, I did not consider whether there were any policy violations or grounds for a civil suit.

It is my conclusion that although there are some discrepancies in the statements, particularly about the number of times the Sheriff was called during the course of the night, these are not sufficient to conclude that any witness knowingly made a false statement to the GBI. As to the arrest itself, although the procedures used to develop probable cause probably would not have survived a court challenge, the facts taken as whole do not show the complete absence of probable cause required for a charge of False Imprisonment pursuant to O.C.G.A. §16-5-41.

Based upon these conclusions, I am closing my file.

After the announcement of Porter’s review of the GBI investigation regarding the arrest, Gwinnett County Sheriff Butch Conway released the following statement, saying there will be an extensive review of the policies and procedures:

”As expected, the District Attoey’s review of the GBI investigative report shows no criminal action on the part of any Sheriff’s Department staff. Now that the District Attoey has completed his review and closed the file, we will begin an extensive review of department policy and procedures regarding this incident. I have ordered that Deputy Cummings be required to undergo additional training in DUI enforcement, and Lt. Benson, the supervisor on the scene, has been verbally counseled specifically for failure to contact outside agency assistance at the scene of the arrest after receiving instruction to do so by me. We have already scheduled additional training for all deputies pertaining to DUI and traffic enforcement, and have initiated the installation of in-car video cameras and other equipment to better aid deputies when making traffic related arrests. This equipment, costing approximately $ 200,000 will be paid with drug asset forfeiture funds.

In regards to my telephone conversations with staff during this incident, I provided investigators records of all phone calls in an effort to give detailed and accurate information. The number of calls I received from staff during this incident was not unusual given the nature of an incident involving a high profile public figure.