Bartow County Sheriff's Officer Arrested, Fired

BARTOW COUNTY, GA — A Bartow County Sheriff’s Office deputy allegedly involved in an off-duty disturbance has been fired and arrested. The alleged disturbance happened at the Cartersville home of deputy Brison Strickland, 28, Saturday night, the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) said in a news release Tuesday.

A woman contacted Strickland and his fiancé Kristen Smith, 25, at their door over a complaint of being allegedly loud and disorderly after midnight, BCSO said. The woman recorded the incident on her cellphone, capturing audio and video evidence of the exchange, BCSO said.

During the exchange, Strickland and Smith were allegedly verbally abusive and made several claims to be police officers and used explicit language in threatening manners, BCSO said.

The woman later filed a report with the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office about the confrontation.

"Sheriff Millsap stated that his office was notified about the incident on Monday morning and Strickland was immediately suspended pending further investigation," BCSO said. "The incident was then investigated by the Criminal Investigations Division and the Internal Affairs Office. Effective this date, Brison Strickland is no longer employed by the Bartow County Sheriff’s Office."

Strickland had been employed with the sheriff’s office from February 2010 until he left in July 2015. He returned to work here again in April 2017. In addition to his termination, Strickland was arrested for simple assault and disorderly house and booked into the Bartow County Adult Detention Center, BCSO said.

After Strickland’s arrest, Smith was arrested and has been charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct, BCSO said. Both are being held pending bond or court appearance.

A further request for comment has been placed with BCSO.