Gwinnett deputy resigns during use-of-force investigation

Andy Scott Hicks

Credit: Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council

Credit: Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council

Andy Scott Hicks

A Gwinnett County deputy recently resigned during an internal investigation into excessive force involving an inmate.

That investigation ended with Sheriff Butch Conway recommending Andy Scott Hicks be terminated, but he never got the chance to act on that recommendation.

It wasn’t the first time Hicks resigned in lieu of termination. It was his third, according to records.

The latest investigation started when Hicks, the former squad leader for the Gwinnett County Jail Rapid Response Team, was accused of using unnecessary force while restraining inmate Robert Rashawn Green.

Robert Rashawn Green

Credit: Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office

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Credit: Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office

Through an open records request, AJC.com obtained jail surveillance footage of the May 5 incident. The footage does not include audio.

The video shows Green, who sometimes uses a wheelchair due to back problems, unsuccessfully trying to chase down another inmate who threw water in his face. Green, 47, has been in jail since his arrest in April following a police chase and crash that caused Green’s back injuries, according to records.

As the video continues, Green returns to his wheelchair. Several deputies, including Hicks, show up soon after. He is then seen forcibly pulling Green to the ground and pushing on his body.

Credit: Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office

Conway and five other members of his staff deemed Hicks’ actions to be unwarranted, according to documents. In addition to Conway, two of the staff members called for the deputy’s termination. The investigation officially concluded on July 21, sheriff’s spokeswoman Shannon Volkodav said. Hicks, however, resigned July 13.

Previous investigations into Hicks have ended with similar results, according to his file with the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST).

He began his career with Decatur police in 2003, but he resigned in lieu of termination the following year, records show. Hicks joined Lithonia police in June 2004 only to again resign in lieu of termination after four months on the job.

His certification was revoked in April 2006, but his POST file does not provide specific documentation on what led to that decision. No other details on the prior resignations were available.

The file indicates Hicks’ certification was reinstated in June 2017, and he was hired by the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office by the end of that year.

Volkodav said Hicks joined the agency when Gwinnett had 52 positions that needed to be filled. Hicks, who served in the military after leaving law enforcement in 2004, received a positive recommendation from his military supervisor and performed his sheriff’s office duties well up until the May incident, she added.

Sgt. Charles Johnson was also disciplined in connection with the incident because he did not stop Hicks, documents show. Johnson was suspended without pay for five days.

Green, who faces 10 charges from his April arrest including aggravated assault, theft by receiving and fleeing police, remains in jail on a $26,650 bond, according to records.

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