GBI arrests Eatonton police chief on battery charges
Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents arrested the Eatonton police chief on battery charges Friday morning.
According to a GBI press release, Police Chief Kent Lawrence, 61, was arrested for two counts of simple battery and one count of battery.
The misdemeanor charges are related to an incident where Lawrence allegedly used excessive force against a woman while she was handcuffed and in Eatonton police custody.
Lawrence, who has been the city’s police chief since 1982, was arrested at the Eatonton Police Department and booked across town at the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office early Friday afternoon, Sheriff Howard Sills told The Telegraph.
Judge Brenda H. Trammell ordered Lawrence be released on his own recognizance, the sheriff said.
This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 12:45 PM.
