Hall County’s longtime sheriff has been suspended for 60 days following his February DUI arrest that stemmed from his alleged decision to drink the malt beverage Four Loko and then hop behind the wheel of his county-issued SUV.
Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday issued an order suspending Sheriff Gerald Couch for two months at the recommendation of the three-member panel he tasked with looking into the Hall County lawman’s arrest.
The panel included Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and two other Georgia sheriffs. Couch’s suspension starts immediately, the governor said in his order.
On Wednesday, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office longest-serving sworn officer was named interim sheriff and sworn in by the chief superior court judge. Maj. Chris Matthews will head the department until Couch returns. Matthews has been with the agency since 1984.
Chief Deputy Kevin Head, the department’s second-in-command, was placed in charge following Couch’s DUI arrest last month. But Head is ineligible to serve as interim sheriff because he doesn’t live in the county, the department said.
Couch was arrested Feb. 27 and charged with DUI, failure to maintain a lane and open container, officials said. The 63-year-old was booked into his own jail after the Georgia State Patrol said his blood alcohol level was 0.212, more than 2.5 times the legal limit.
A state trooper noted in the incident report that Couch was driving his county-issued Chevrolet Tahoe at the time, around 10:30 a.m.
Couch smelled of alcohol and said he had drank Four Loko beverages that morning, according to the report.
Georgia law gives the governor the authority to investigate an elected sheriff who faces criminal charges and to suspend the official or take other actions.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reached out to Couch’s attorney for comment.
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