TOWNS COUNTY, Ga. — Former Towns County Sheriff Kenneth Henderson negotiated a plea deal for charges pertaining to a confrontation with an officer, Atlanta News First reported.
Henderson, who had previously been suspended by Gov. Brian Kemp following the confrontation, resigned from his position on Aug. 24 after pleading no contest to simple battery against a police officer and violation of oath of office. He also pleaded guilty to selling personal property to a political subdivision.
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Henderson was sentenced under Georgia’s First Offender Act to 10 years of probation and fined $1,000. The judge said his probation will end after five years if he fully complies with its terms. Henderson also cannot seek elected office while on probation or have violent or harassing contact with the officer involved in the incident.
The first two charges stem from an incident where Henderson detained a Hiawassee Police officer at a crime scene on Dec. 13, 2024, after a deputy was shot in the leg, ANF reported.
Body camera footage from that incident shows Henderson berating and shoving the officer as his deputies tried to calm him down. The Hiawassee officer had been the first to respond to the scene. He had rendered medical aid to the deputy, but had also picked up a gun at the scene and placed it in a holster. When Henderson arrived at the scene, he accused the officer of mishandling the weapon, shoving him and ultimately handcuffing him and placing him in the back of a cruiser.
The deputy wounded in that incident was later found to have shot himself, and was arrested.
The personal property charge relates to an incident where Henderson sold a personal item to the Towns County Sheriff’s Office, ANF reported.
