A Gainesville police officer has been charged in an off-duty domestic incident and subsequently fired.
A press release from the Gainesville Police Department said it was made aware on March 22 of an incident at Collin Merritt's home while he was off-duty. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was notified and took over the investigation when it was determined a crime had occurred.
Merritt, 26, of Flowery Branch, was immediately suspended without pay, pending the investigation. Charges were filed by the GBI and Merritt turned himself in at the Hall County Jail on Monday. Authorities did not release details of the incident which led to his arrest.
Merritt was charged with simple assault, pointing a gun at another and reckless conduct. He bonded out of jail the day of his arrest.
Merritt was fired following the result of the GBI's investigation.
"We hold our employees at the highest standard as we aim to be pillars of our community. At any point our employees betray our community’s trust or code of conduct, we will take immediate and swift action," Gainesville Police Chief Jay Parrish said in a prepared statement. "We will always strive to maintain professionalism, integrity, loyalty, leadership, accountability, and respect. We expect our employees to conduct themselves in a manner to reflect this, on and off duty."
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