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Sheriff's Candidates TrainingOne of the current candidates for Sheriff consistently uses the self-proclamation of being the "most qualified" of all the candidates for Fayette County Sheriff. This particular candidate's training record with the GA Peace Officers Standards and Training Council reveals that statement is untrue and poses some issues with that particular candidate. Mr. Simmons training record, obtained from the GA POST Council via Open Records in addition to the training records of Wayne Hannah, Thomas Mindar, and Barry Babb, reveals that Mr. Simmons was employed by the GA Building Authority Police Agency from 11/1999 until 8/2001 when he resigned. (Simmons does not claim this experience and a letter on his website claims he worked for this agency from Dec. of 1998 until Dec. of 2001). Simmons' training record shows that he attained 444 hours of POST recognized training in the year 2000. Of those hours, 440 hours were attributed to the 11 week police academy he attended to obtain his GA POST certification. The remainder of his training for 2000 was "IN THE LINE OF DUTY TRAINING VIDEO" for a total of 4 training hours. Simmons' training for 2001 totaled 16 hours and involved 2 hours of Fraud Investigations, 2 hours of Health Issues, 2 hours of Victim's Bill of Rights, 2 hours of Miscellaneous Conflict Management, 4 hours of Crime Prevention, and 4 hours of Firearms requalifications. Simmons' last training was completed in January of 2002 and he received 4 hours of training in the area of Crisis Management and Terrorism. There is no record of any training having been completed since January of 2002! To the average citizen, having to attend the full 11 weeks of training might not mean much, but to someone familiar with law enforcement certification, transferring an out-of-state POST certification to another state involves having to complete an abbreviated training academy in the new state of certification (Lateral transfers). Therefore, why was Simmons' POST certification from Michigan NOT recognized by the State of GA and why is there no credit for any previous training or certifications on his report? For the year 2001, why did Simmons' fail to meet the State requirement (O.C.G.A. 35-8-21) of obtaining his 20 hours of training, thus resulting in his losing his powers of arrest? This would mean that any arrest Simmons' affected while employed would be INVALID for that year. Simmons training report also lists his highest level of education as a HS diploma. Why doesn't GA recognize his college education? Just in comparison- Mindar shows a total of 1183 hours of training since 1996 and is a certified Field Training Officer holding both his Basic and Intermediate Certifications in law enforcement. Babb shows 1589 hours of training since 1988 and holds certifications as a radar operator, Field Training Officer, and Arson Investigator. He holds a Basic Certification and both General and Firearms Instructor Certifications. Hannah shows 2210 hours of training since 1978 and holds certifications as a radar operator, Laser operator, Basic certification, and Firearms Instructor. I would say, in doing the math, that the most qualified of the candidates is NOT Dave Simmons! drewpdawg's blog | login to post comments![]() |