Suspended Forsyth police officer fired

A Forsyth police officer accused of getting into a domestic dispute with his girlfriend was fired this week by the department.

Sgt. Darryl Bittick had been on paid administrative leave since Aug. 2 while the GBI looked into an accusation that he struck his girlfriend along Montpelier Road earlier that day.

GBI Special Agent Tom Davis said Thursday that his office has one more person to interview in the investigation before the findings are turned over to the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office. Davis said no charges have been filed, and it would be up to the DA’s office to decide whether to file charges in the case.

Forsyth Mayor Tye Howard said Bittick could still file an appeal to get reinstated.

Howard said Bittick had been among the finalists to become the department’s new police chief earlier this year. Though Bittick, the department’s Supervisor of the Year in 2008, made it into the top six finalists, the job ultimately went to Keith Corley, who had been a captain in the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Messages left for Corley by The Telegraph on Thursday were not returned.

In 2003, Bittick was dismissed from the Centerville Police Department for having an improper relationship with a female supervisor.

Information from The Telegraph’s archives was used in this report. To contact writer Phillip Ramati, call 744-4334.