Sheriff Ken Henderson, the elected sheriff of Towns County, Georgia, is suspended from office and awaiting trial on a seven-count indictment stemming from a December 2024 confrontation with a Hiawassee police officer. A second grand jury reindicted him on all counts in May 2026 after the first indictment was thrown out over a juror residency problem, and Governor Brian Kemp ordered a second, separate misconduct investigation in June 2026.
The Charges Against Henderson
A Towns County grand jury first indicted Henderson on October 27, 2025. After the original indictment was set aside, a second grand jury returned a superseding indictment on May 19, 2026, charging him on the same seven counts:1Atlanta News First. North Georgia Sheriff Reindicted on All Counts After First Grand Jury Indictment Thrown Out
- Three counts of violation of oath by a public officer
- Two counts of false imprisonment under color of law
- One count of simple battery on a police officer
- One count of simple battery
Five counts are felonies and two are misdemeanors.2Access North Georgia. Grand Jury Hands Down New Indictment in Case Against Suspended Towns County Sheriff Ken Henderson Henderson has pleaded not guilty, and no trial date has been scheduled.
What Happened at the Scene
On December 13, 2024, Towns County Deputy Austin Bradburn radioed that he had been shot during a traffic stop on Plottown Road in Young Harris. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation later determined that Bradburn had shot himself and fabricated the story about an assailant; he was arrested in January 2025 and indicted on seven charges of his own.3GBI Georgia. GBI Arrests Former Towns County Deputy
While the emergency response was still underway, Hiawassee Police Officer José Carvajal, who had helped apply a tourniquet to Bradburn, accidentally picked up the deputy’s firearm. Once he recognized it as possible evidence, he secured it in his waistband and refused to touch it again until GBI investigators arrived.4Atlanta News First. District Attorney Calls for Special Prosecutor to Investigate Sheriff’s Actions
Henderson arrived and confronted Carvajal over the weapon. Body camera footage obtained by Atlanta News First showed Carvajal telling Henderson to “get away from me” and trying to walk off; Henderson followed, put his hands on him, and spun him around, then shoved and berated him as deputies tried to hold the sheriff back.5Police1. GA Sheriff Who Physically Confronted Police Officer Indicted on Battery, Violation of Oath Charges Henderson then had Carvajal handcuffed and placed in a patrol car for more than 20 minutes, released him without charges, and ordered him to leave before the GBI arrived.4Atlanta News First. District Attorney Calls for Special Prosecutor to Investigate Sheriff’s Actions
Henderson later publicly accused Carvajal of being “defiant, obstinate and combative” and said the officer had contaminated a crime scene and obstructed the investigation.6Fox 5 Atlanta. Towns County Sheriff Defends Himself After Governor Orders Investigation The footage became public in September 2025 through anonymous sources, because it had been shielded from open records release as evidence in active investigations.
Why the First Indictment Was Thrown Out
Henderson’s defense attorney discovered that one member of the original grand jury had been living across the state line in Clay County, North Carolina, rather than in Towns County, when the indictment was returned. The defense moved to vacate.7Atlanta News First. Gov. Kemp Orders New Investigation Into Suspended North Georgia Sheriff
Special prosecutor Frank Wood, the District Attorney for the Appalachian Judicial Circuit, acknowledged the defect and asked the court to set the charges aside.8Atlanta News First. Grand Jury Indictment Against North Georgia Sheriff Thrown Out Before the court formally ruled, Wood took the case to a new grand jury, and the May 19, 2026 superseding indictment made the dismissal motion moot.
The Governor’s Suspensions and a Second Investigation
After the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association asked Governor Kemp to review the case, Kemp appointed an investigative panel under Georgia Code Section 15-16-26, consisting of Attorney General Chris Carr, Coweta County Sheriff Lenn Wood, and Newton County Sheriff Ezell Brown. The panel reported on October 17, 2025, and Kemp suspended Henderson for 60 days effective October 21, 2025.9Fox 5 Atlanta. Gov. Kemp Suspends Towns County Sheriff After Misconduct Probe
On June 27, 2026, Kemp signed a new executive order opening a second investigation into Henderson, citing fresh misconduct allegations he said were “separate and distinct” from the Carvajal incident. The specifics have not been publicly disclosed. Kemp reappointed the same three-member committee and gave it 30 days to report. The following day, Kemp signed a separate order suspending Henderson again.10Governor of Georgia. Executive Orders 2026
Who Is Running the Sheriff’s Office
On October 27, 2025, Enotah Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Joy Parks swore in Anthony Coleman as interim sheriff. Coleman is a Hiawassee native and a retired lieutenant with the Georgia State Patrol, and he has run the office through Henderson’s suspension.11Atlanta News First. Towns County Sheriff Ordered to Turn Himself in After Indictment After the indictment, Judge Parks issued a bench warrant and gave Henderson roughly 50 minutes to turn himself in at the Towns County Jail, where he had presided as sheriff since 2021. He was released on his own recognizance and allowed to keep his firearm.12Towns County Herald. Henderson Arrest
Who Henderson Is
Henderson, who also goes by “Ode,” was first elected Towns County Sheriff in 2020 and took office in January 2021. Before that, he served as police chief at Young Harris College.13Young Harris College. Young Harris College Police Celebrate 40 Years He won reelection in the May 2024 Republican primary. As of mid-2026, he remains suspended, has pleaded not guilty to all seven counts, and is awaiting trial while the second gubernatorial investigation runs its course.