Kemp Orders New Investigation Into Suspended Towns County Sheriff Ken HendersonAlternative options

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp ordered a new investigation Saturday into allegations of misconduct against suspended Towns County Sheriff Kenneth Henderson, describing the claims as separate and distinct from the criminal case that has kept the sheriff out of office for months.

Kemp signed an executive order appointing a three-member panel to examine the new allegations of misconduct in office, which were brought to his attention Friday. The panel — consisting of Attorney General Chris Carr, Coweta County Sheriff Lenn Wood and Newton County Sheriff Ezell Brown — has 30 days to submit its findings under state law.

Henderson remains the elected sheriff of Towns County but has been suspended since October 2025. He is awaiting trial on a seven-count superseding indictment handed up by a Towns County grand jury in May.

The charges stem from a December 2024 incident at the scene of a shooting in which Towns County Deputy Austin Bradburn was shot in the leg. Hiawassee Police Officer José Carvajal responded from outside his jurisdiction to assist and used training to help apply a tourniquet and secure the scene.

Body camera footage obtained by Atlanta News First Investigates shows Henderson confronting Carvajal over the handling of Bradburn’s service weapon, which the officer had picked up amid the chaos before securing it as evidence and stating he would not touch it again until the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrived. The footage depicts Henderson becoming agitated, physically confronting and shoving Carvajal, and berating him, leading to Carvajal’s arrest.

The original seven-count indictment, returned in late October 2025, included multiple counts of violation of oath by a public officer, false imprisonment (including under color of law), and simple battery. Henderson turned himself in shortly after the indictment and was released on bond. His name was subsequently removed from the sheriff’s office and some patrol vehicles.

That indictment was later set aside after it was discovered that one grand juror lived in North Carolina and was not qualified to serve on a Towns County grand jury. A special prosecutor asked the court to vacate the charges, and a new grand jury reindicted Henderson on all counts in May 2026.

Henderson has previously defended his actions in the incident, describing some public criticism as “misinformation” and arguing that Carvajal unlawfully interfered at the scene.

Henderson remains suspended pending the outcome of the criminal proceedings. No trial date has been announced. Details about the nature or source of the newest allegations against him have not been publicly released.

The governor’s action follows an earlier executive order in December 2025 directing a commission to review Henderson’s indictment and suspension. Separate from Henderson’s case, at least one of his former deputies has faced arrest this year on theft-in-office allegations investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Kemp’s Saturday order does not cite the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association as the source of the new allegations, unlike the initial investigation. Henderson has not publicly responded to the latest development.