New Monroe County sheriff to be sworn in next week

A new era for the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office begins next week.

Sheriff-elect Brad Freeman will be sworn in at the Monroe County Courthouse at 1 p.m. Thursday.

Freeman fills the unexpired term of former sheriff John Cary Bittick who resigned to become U.S. Marshal for the Middle District of Georgia.

In the November general election, Freeman finished second in a field of six candidates behind Bittick’s son, sheriff’s Lt. Lawson Bittick III.

In the Dec. 4 run-off, Freeman captured 56 percent of the vote to beat Bittick, who would have been the fourth member of his family to serve as sheriff.

Freeman will take over for interim sheriff Al Shackleford, who had been John Cary Bittick’s chief deputy.

Freeman, a captain in the sheriff’s office who served 32 years under the former sheriff Bittick, plans to increase patrols in the county.

The public is invited to attend his swearing-in ceremony.

This story was originally published December 11, 2018 at 11:19 AM.