Bandy, Brewer leaving HCSO

GAINESVILLE - The commander of the Hall County Sheriff's Office Jail Division has announced his decision to retire, and at the same time, one of two victim/witness advocates for the department has turned in his resignation.

The two incidents are unrelated, but the Sheriff's Office released a press statement on both at the same time.

The statement said that chief jailer Capt. Mark Bandy announced his retirement Friday, indicating he will be furthering his education "in preparation for future endeavors."

Bandy had worked for the Sheriff's Office since June, 1992. He became jail commander in January of 2009. Bandy's retirement is effective October 19.

Meanwhile, Jim "Bimbo" Brewer resigned from his job last week following an incident at Northeast Georgia Medical Center the night of September 30.

Brewer, who was off-duty and not on-call that night, was called to the hospital by dispatchers, according to the statement. When he arrived a fellow officer noticed an odor of alcohol on his breath and notified a supervisor, according to the press statement.

The supervisor came to the hospital and relieved Brewer of his duties. At a follow-up meeting on October 1, Brewer took responsibility for his actions and submitted his resignation letter. The statement indicated that Brewer said "his only desire was to serve the victims' family."

The incidents in question involved a fellow officer who lost a child and another family member who had been involved in a fatal car crash, according to the statement.

The statement further read, "Jim 'Bimbo' Brewer has been a tremendous asset not only to this department, but more importantly to this community. He has served the needs of hundreds of victims and their family members during some of the most difficult times in their lives. It's unfortunate that his overwhelming desire to serve led to a momentary lapse in judgment, but the manner in which he took full responsibility for his actions is true to his character."