A veteran Bartow County sheriff’s deputy retired Monday, one day after she was arrested on a DUI charge, the sheriff’s office said Tuesday.
Brandy Kottemann, who had worked for the sheriff’s office since 1992, was arrested Sunday by Cartersville police on charges that included DUI and failing to maintain her lane.
The deputy’s arrest came after Bartow dispatchers issued a lookout about 8:23 p.m. for a possible drunk driver leaving the Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse on East Church Street, according to a Cartersville police report.
An off-duty Marietta police officer had called Bartow 911 to alert them to the possible drunk driver, the Cartersville police report said. He said he told the woman not to drive. The off-duty officer volunteered to stay behind the vehicle until a Cartersville officer could respond.
The arresting Cartersville officer later observed Kottemann’s vehicle cross over the “white fog line” on Joe Frank Harris Parkway, then drive on the wrong side of the road “for several seconds” on South Bridge, according to the police report.
After an emergency police stop was made in a gas station parking lot, the officer said the driver already had her wallet in her hands. She was looking at the officer with “droopy, heavy lidded eyes” and had “slurred speech.” The officer also noticed the “slight odor” of an alcoholic beverage coming from Kottemann’s vehicle.
“I know I’ve been drinking … I’ve been a Deputy Sheriff for 24 years,” Kottemann told the officer, according to the report. When the officer asked how much she had had to drink, Kottemann replied, “I’ve had a lot.”
Kottemann was assigned to the Court Security Division, the sheriff’s office said.
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