Bannister suit against Sheriff Conway dismissed

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by former Gwinnett Commission Chairman Charles Bannister against Gwinnett Sheriff Butch Conway and two of his employees. The lawsuit claimed that Bannister’s 2010 arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence was politically motivated.

Bannister’s suit charged a violation of his civil rights for false arrest, false imprisonment and retaliation against speech that is protected by the First Amendment.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Thrash Jr. threw out the lawsuit last week, saying there was no evidence that Conway conspired with Sheriff’s Office supervisor Vardis Benson and uniform deputy Michael Cummings to have Bannister arrested after he left Cafe Hot Wing in Lilburn in June 2010. The judge ordered Bannister to pay their court costs.

“Any allegation of a conspiracy between Conway, Benson and Cummings to unlawfully arrest (Bannister) is based on pure speculation,” the judge’s order says.

Breathalyzer and blood tests performed on Bannister found no traces of alcohol in his system, which led to the charges against him being dropped. Conway later apologized and called the arrest a “mistake.”

Bannister resigned from office in two months after the arrest in order to avoid indictment on a perjury charge by a Special Purpose Grand Jury investigating county land purchases approved by the commission.

Bannister filed suit against Conway and his employees last year, saying the arrest was made to “embarrass and humiliate” him in retaliation for his opposition to “Conway’s political aims.”