John Jefferson
Inset: Deputy Garrison Page (Bibb County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Garrison Page accepting a 2019 “Deputy of the Year” award (Houston County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook).
A Georgia cop who once won “Deputy of the Year” was arrested and charged with DUI last week after he tried to drunkenly direct traffic outside of an elementary school — despite there being no cars in the area, according to police officials.
“None of your business,” said Houston County Sheriff’s Deputy Garrison Page when asked what he was doing and whether he needed medical attention, according to the incident report, which was obtained by local NBC affiliate WMGT.
Page, a former Bibb County cop who started working for Houston County just eight days before his arrest, was at Skyview Elementary School in Lizella, Georgia — dressed in plain clothes and driving a patrol car — when Board of Education officers stumbled upon him last Tuesday, police say.
According to the Nov. 19 incident report, Page was allegedly slurring his words and standing unsteadily while talking with officers about what he was doing. He even walked away at one point, the report says, to allegedly keep standing in the road.
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One witness who saw the scene unfold told authorities that Page appeared “not right” and was talking to himself while directing cars that didn’t exist, according to local ABC affiliate WSB.
The BOE officers said Page smelled of alcohol, prompting them to detain him under suspicion of a DUI for allegedly driving to the scene. An open can of Mike’s Harder Lemonade and an unopened can of Natural Light beer were allegedly found inside his patrol car, WSB reports.
Page, who won “Deputy of the Year” in 2019 while working for Houston County, allegedly refused to take a breath test and was also uncooperative at the Bibb County Jail upon his arrest, with staff reporting that he tried removing a needle from his arm during an attempted blood test.
Authorities had to secure a warrant from a Superior Court judge to finally get his blood drawn, though the results have not been made public.
Page was reportedly released after being booked on DUI charges. HCSO officials say he’s been suspended pending termination.
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