Gwinnett DA won't seek charges in Bannister arrest

However, the report didn't put an end to questions about the mishap.

Bannister’s attorney, Alan Mullinax, said the chairman violated no county policies by driving his county vehicle after drinking two or three beers. The attorney said the report gives plenty of details about how his client was arrested.

“But the underlying question is, why did it happen?” Mullinax said. “I don’t think that question has been answered.”

Mullinax said seven sheriff’s department employees, including Conway, became involved in the investigation within 15 minutes of Bannister arriving at the restaurant – “before the chairman had time to consume one beer.”

“Whether or not a crime was committed, what happened to the chairman did not pass the smell test,” Mullinax said.

Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter said he won't file criminal charges against any of the deputies because there is no reason to suspect that Bannister was the victim of entrapment. Porter said "the idea to consume alcohol and operate a vehicle did not come from a law enforcement agency."

"The Chairman has to explain why he was drinking alcohol and driving a county car," Porter said. "And the Sheriff has to explain why he expended so many resources on a DUI case. But that's not my explanation to give."

Bannister declined to comment at a commission meeting Tuesday.

The GBI report had a few revelations. For one, Bannister is no tee-totaler. He admitted to GBI investigators that he did have "a little better than two beers" that night. The investigator wrote "Chairman Bannister advised this was not his first warning about the deputies out to get him, they know where he eats and drinks beer." He added, "Chairman Bannister feels like he walked into a trap."

The report also indicated that Conway knew more about the unfolding events on June 28 than he initially let on. The telephone records of several deputies involved in the arrest show a total of 25 calls went to and from the Sheriff's cell phone that night. Conway said Tuesday that several deputies checked in with him, which is not unusual when big events are occurring. He said many of the calls were dropped due to poor service.

In earlier interviews, Conway said he spoke with a deputy and simply told him "do your job." In his interview with the GBI investigator, Conway only alluded to two phone conversations he had with Lt. Buzz Benson.

Finally, the report revealed that deputies had seen Bannister imbibing before climbing behind the wheel of his county-owned car once before. Included in the report were memos to the Sheriff from four deputies who stated that they witnessed the Chairman drinking beer with another man at the same Lilburn sports bar on Feb. 1, 2010. The deputies said they watched Bannister get into his black Ford Crown Victoria and leave about 15 minutes later. Deputy Michael Cummings -- the same deputy who arrested Bannister in June -- returned two and a half hours later to obtain a statement from the waitress. The woman told Cummings that Bannister drank four beers that evening and ate only peanuts.

Conway said he plans to retrain all his deputies in DUI arrest procedures and use $200,000 in drug forfeiture funds to install video cameras in all the squad cars. The Sheriff also said that he will require verbal counseling -- a low-level disciplinary action -- for Benson. Benson did not follow orders when Conway asked him to contact Gwinnett Police DUI Task Force for assistance.

In addition, the Sheriff said he will allow deputies to have more discretion in how inmates are transferred from the jail to other facilities. The current policy mandates that the inmates must be handcuffed and shackled with a waist chain when they are taken to a hospital -- a measure that some felt was too extreme for 71-year-old Bannister.

* Staff writer David Wickert contributed to this story.