[quote][b]E.J.[/b] -
Great information! Stuff I never was clear about. Thank you so much.
Still, my initial query is about why sheriffs are elected instead of appointed like a police chief. Why does the state constitution call for 4 offices to be elected and not appointed? I don't see the conflict in having these offices appointed. Do you know or can you clarify for me. I'm not very good at recognizing conflicts.
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Being elected makes those office holders directly answerable to the electorate rather than an appointed body. It allows the electorate to directly choose and directly fire those office holders. Otherwise their will can only be indirectly expressed by protesting to or voting out members of the governing authority.

[quote][b]E.J.[/b] - @Chief Weems: Always good to have accurate information. Thanks for weighing in, as usual. Now, can you tell us why it is that there are sheriff's departments separate from police departments and why sheriff's are elected and not appointed? I have always wondered that.
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First, even though not all SOs hold fast to it, the correct term is Sheriff's Office. The "d word" should not be used in conjunction with the word Sheriff.

The Georgia Constitution establishes the Office (not d word) of Sheriff as one of the four constitutional officers required in each county. The other three are the Probate Judge, the Tax Commissioner, and the Clerk of Courts.

Constitutional officers do not answer to the governing authority of the county (Board of Commissioners). The governing authority allocates the budget to each of the offices, but that is it. The duties and powers of constitutional officers derive from the state constitution and state laws. They can't be altered by the governing authority. There is a unanimous state supreme court ruling backing this up.

Elected Sheriffs answer directly to the electorate. Appointed chiefs answer to the appointing body.

All of the existing county police agencies existing in the state were created prior to the code section that I cited in my previous post.

Here is an article I wrote on various jurisdictional matters in GA, and it goes into some of the questions that you asked:

http://chiefweems.wordpress.com/jurisdictional-georgia/

[quote][b]The Oracle of the Athens Banner Herald[/b] -
Not really. The courthouse "belongs" to the county commissioners. They could hire county police or private security to provide security if they chose to do so.
The security cameras belong to the county commissioners.
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That is not correct. According to state law, court house security is the responsibility and jurisdiction of the Sheriff. The Sheriff is required to author and implement a security plan and file it with the chief judge of the Superior Court for review. The County Commissioners only part of the process is paying the bill.

See O.C.G.A. 15-16-10 (a)(10)

A county may not create a county police agency unless there is a public referendum to do so. Such a vote can only be held every four years.

See 36-8-1 O.C.G.A.

Even if their were such a vote in a county to create a PD, the courthouse security plan an implementation would still be vested in the Sheriff. Private security can only be utilized if the Sheriff and Chief Judge agree to do so. Again, the Commissioners have no say so in the matter per the state law.

They knocked this one out of the park. Great hire!!

[quote][b]bobbidiboo[/b] -
The doughnut idea is only an idea which has never reached fruition. Raise your hands if you have ever....ever seen a police car at a doughnut shop. It's unanimous. No one has.
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I've seen my patrol car parked at more than one doughnut shop...

[quote][b]nationalchamp1988[/b] - I'm just glad there wasn't a foot chase because I doubt the Sheriff and Deputy could have kept up after downing some Chili Dogs!
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I don't think pre or post lunch would have much bearing on our respective abilities to catch anyone in a foot chase.

I had a hamburger.

I observed him drive into the lot. I observed him get out of his car and walk into the building. I was in the lobby talking to a visitor when he pulled into the lot. He walked into the lobby and began speaking to me. I remained in contact with him the entire time. In fact, we sat out in the lobby and chatted for a while.

He agreed to blow in a PBT. At his request to blow on the "official machine", I explained to him that he was not under arrest and was under no obligation to do so. He was adamant that he wanted to blow on the "official machine"; so, I arranged for him to blow into the Intox.

More than 20 minutes transpired between his coming into the lobby and the Intox.

This is a per se DUI. The burden of proof is that he was operating a vehicle with a BAC of .08 or higher. That burden of proof was met after I observed him operate the vehicle and he provided a breath sample.

[quote][b]guapo[/b] -
No one is denying or even discussing whether or not the OCSO does a great job. They do. What you fail to realize is that this incident happened in BARROW COUNTY. That is the whole point. The looking after everyone's business is exactly what I am talking about. It was not his to be giving quotes to the press. That should have been left up to the Sheriff of Barrow County.
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If you read the latest version of the article, you will see that Sheriff Smith of Barrow County is quoted. When Joe Johnson asked me about the specifics of the wreck, I told him it happened in Barrow County and referred him to Barrow County. A previous version of the article did contain quotes from Sheriff Smith. The original version of the article also didn't contain quotes from the Judge, but it does now.

The information Joe Johnson and the ABH evolved over the day, and they updated the article several times based upon the freshest information they had.

I don't have editorial control over the ABH and can't control what information they decide to use in an article or who they chose to quote.

It should be noted that the Clarke County Sheriff's Office was notified via radio, and they responded quickly on their end as we were all trying to ascertain what had happened.

[quote][b]guapo[/b] - I truly hope that Mrs. Haggard was not at home when the Oconee deputies came screaming up their driveway to scare the crap out of her. I am glad that you got to speak to the Sheriff of Barrow County about the Judge. Weems has no business giving the medical condition of a person involved in a wreck in another county without having even been there. Basing the condition of the Judge because he called is son is insane.
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Thank you for your critique and your concern.

The deputies didn't fly up the driveway with lights and sirens blaring. That would be pretty stupid as it would alert anyone there to their presence.

His son was riding in the vehicle with me when he spoke with his father. The son hung up the phone and said, "He's fine." When asked about his medical condition, I stated that I couldn't provide any specific information, but he told his son that he was fine. I don't think the son was lying to me about that.

No, Mrs. Haggard wasn't home when we arrived there. We located her and made sure she got to the hospital okay. Some very nice friends of hers took over from there. Thanks ladies.

I spoke with the D.A.'s office concerning this issue, and the prosecutor also felt that it would not be possible to prosecute a case for taking such items left free for the taking.

I was somewhat involved with at least one of the reported Red & Black "thefts", and as I recall, there wasn't a successful prosecution of those cases. I'd be interested to see news reports and court documents to the contrary. I'm sure that such instances arose more than the couple that I can remember. I am perfectly willing to stand corrected with some actual proof.

The involved parties do possibly have a civil case.

[quote][b]Bellehowell[/b] - It would be a different story if these were donuts in a dumpster.
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That's impossible. They'd never be around long enough to get thrown away...

@matt1141a: Every shift has personnel assigned to foot/bike patrol. Foot/bike patrol was the norm and not the exception. The housing personnel are a supplement that work directly for housing. They are not there in place of police officers.

Sure there were times that CCSO and ACCPD conducted business on campus without UGAPD personnel present, but it is customary that they notify dispatch that they are at a particular location. There is no legal requirement for them to do so, but it is their standard practice just as it is our standard practice to notify another agency that we have business in their jurisdiction.

[quote][b]torqinwrench[/b] -
But do they both agree? Why do I have to wonder how to interpret what is true.
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No. The report does use the word "permission" but it was not in the context being used in the article.

[quote][b]matt1141a[/b] - "Deputies were refused permission to search the campus for their suspect, according to a sheriff’s report."
Since when did a deputy sheriff need permission to serve a felony warrant? Georgia law gives all deputies statewide jurisdiction to serve arrest warrants.
Clarke County doesn't ask UGA permission to serve arrest warrants on campus...they just do it.
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Oh yeah, the news article is a paraphrase of the incident report. The incident report does not use the same wording that is used in the news report.

[quote][b]matt1141a[/b] - "Deputies were refused permission to search the campus for their suspect, according to a sheriff’s report."
Since when did a deputy sheriff need permission to serve a felony warrant? Georgia law gives all deputies statewide jurisdiction to serve arrest warrants.
Clarke County doesn't ask UGA permission to serve arrest warrants on campus...they just do it.
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And there you go again being wrong on the facts again. The other day it was foot patrol. Today it is warrants. I worked for the UGA Police for 10 years, and Clarke County regularly contacted us when they had business on campus. I have personally accompanied CCSO personnel when they served warrants and civil papers on campus, and I have personally assisted ACCPD personnel in seeking individuals in relation to their investigations. It was common practice.

The Oconee deputies notified both the Clarke County Sheriff's Office and the ACCPD that they would be at Athens Tech attempting to locate the suspect. When they arrived on campus, they went to notify ATC administration out of courtesy and to get assistance in locating the individual on campus. That assistance was not forthcoming at that time, but Dr. Tydings took steps to address the situation when it came to her attention. We believe she has done so effectively, and we thank her for doing so.

[quote][b]yeti[/b] - "aggravated stalking, battery and cruelty to children, said Oconee Chief Deputy Lee Weems." ..............How old was the female he hit? [/quote]

16-5-70 (d) O.C.G.A.

(d) Any person commits the offense of cruelty to children in the third degree when:

(1) Such person, who is the primary aggressor, intentionally allows a child under the age of 18 to witness the commission of a forcible felony, battery, or family violence battery; or

(2) Such person, who is the primary aggressor, having knowledge that a child under the age of 18 is present and sees or hears the act, commits a forcible felony, battery, or family violence battery.

Benson has surrendered to the Oconee County Jail.

Sheriff Berry met with Dr. Flora Tydings, the president of Athens Tech, this morning concerning the search for Brett Almand Benson. Dr. Tydings has apologized for the mix-up yesterday, and she acknowledged that Benson was indeed on campus yesterday. She has assured us that such a misunderstanding will not take place again. Dr. Tydings also expressed that she is committed to the safety and security of Athens Tech’s students, faculty, and staff. We appreciate Dr. Tydings’ attention to this matter and her concern for the events of yesterday. We have always worked well with Athens Tech, and we will continue to do so.

[quote][b]grove600[/b] -
"D" word?
Diligent?
Thanks for the things you and your crew do. Someone, a motorist maybe, seems to have called it in as a tractor trailer. [/quote]

Thank you for your kind words. Yes, the call came in from a motorist.

"D" word = department

The Sheriff is a constitutional officer and heads an office. The Sheriff's Office is not a department of county government.

[quote][b]matt1141a[/b] - Unarmed security guards patrolling parking lots at night in a crime infested city. UGA police should handle housing security just like the campus cops at Georgia State and GA Tech do.
Rather than driving around in circles in their patrol cars, some UGA cops should be on foot patrol around the campus housing at night...especially the ones near the Parkview Homes ghetto housing project.
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I am not a spokesman for the UGAPD. These words are coming from me personally and not from the UGAPD. I respond because the quoted post contains implications that simply aren't true based upon my own personal experience.

I spent shifts on foot patrol when I worked for the UGA Police. Each given shift having personnel on foot or bike patrol is the norm and not an exception. When I left in 2009, each shift had at least three personnel assigned to foot/bike patrol as their regular assignment. Housing had the security guards then as well. They aren't something new that has taken the place of police officers. They were in place the entire 10 years I had the honor of working for the UGAPD.

The initial 911 call was that a tractor trailer had overturned on the ramp. The Nixle alert was sent as units were responding to the scene, and the person that sent the Nixle never saw the truck. The Nixle alert did indeed use the term "tractor trailer".

https://agency.nixle.com/pub/4962292/

The use of the term "tractor trailer" isn't a big deal. I much more concerned with the Sheriff's Office being referred to as a "d" word...

[quote][b]Craig[/b] - Good job by the OCSO deputies to stake out the location and put the thugs in jail. They could have just towed the car and done a stolen vehicle recovery.
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That was the easy part. The person who provided the tip made this case.

[quote][b]EmbracingWhatsRight[/b] - "The residents of the home identified the battery as belonging to them".
Officer: Can you identify the missing battery?
Victim: It has plus and minus things on top."
Officer: It just so happens we found this battery in the woods nearby. [/quote]

I responded it to the scene to backup Deputy Elrod. That's not quite how I remember it taking place.

Croffie's identity was determined via several pieces of evidence to include information from the Monroe Police in reference to the stolen vehicle report, physical evidence at the scene, and several people who had contact with him near the wreck but did not initially realize that he was involved.