Former Towns County Sheriff’s Deputy Austin Bradburn was arrested last week for allegedly lying to investigators about the December shooting that sent him to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville with a bullet hole in his leg.
He was reportedly shot around 2 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 13, in Young Harris. He told the Georgia Bureau of Investigation that he and a driver from a traffic stop on Plottown Road got into a struggle over his handgun that caused the injurious discharge before the suspect drove away.
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But the GBI, which routinely investigates officer-involved shootings around the state, has now accused Bradburn of falsely reporting what happened, resulting in 10 criminal charges being filed against him in three county jurisdictions.
“The GBI conducted a thorough and independent investigation which revealed information to support the charges against Bradburn,” according to a GBI news release from Jan. 21, the day of his arrest.
Per his Towns County arrest warrants, which include misdemeanor false report of a crime and felony violation of oath by a public officer, Bradburn’s testimony about the incident “was later refuted by his patrol car’s laptop GPS data and other evidence obtained” in the investigation.
Bradburn is also facing charges in Union County, where he lives, and in Hall County, where he received medical treatment. He is alleged to have made false statements to GBI in both counties over the course of the investigation, in turn violating his oath as a deputy.
The GBI did not note in its news release what aspects of Bradburn’s testimony are believed to be false, and GBI Region 8 Special Agent in Charge Kim Williams said, “The release is all we are putting out.”
Many unanswered questions remain about what exactly happened on the side of Plottown Road Dec. 13, such as who is responsible for injuring Bradburn, but the GBI has declined to comment on what it believes took place the morning of the shooting.
The charges, which SAC Williams said were “self-explanatory” following a media inquiry, do not appear to address what happened in the shooting but instead highlight what authorities believe did not happen, namely, the version of events Bradburn provided to investigators.
Regarding the Dec. 13-announced hunt for an unidentified suspect wanted in the aggravated assault as described by Bradburn, SAC Williams said last week: “We are not searching for anyone.”
Given the nature of the charges involving the false report of a crime and the fact that the GBI is no longer searching for a suspect in the case, the newspaper asked Williams if the investigation had determined whether Bradburn was alone at the time of the shooting.
“We have no information to support the presence of another party,” Williams said the day after Bradburn’s arrest.
Bradburn was booked into the detention centers of Towns, Union and Hall counties over about nine hours between the afternoon of Tuesday, Jan. 21, and early morning Wednesday, Jan. 22, according to the respective Sheriff’s Offices.
The GBI arrested the former deputy at his home in Blairsville that Tuesday, taking him to the Towns County Jail for booking at 3:20 p.m. under the misdemeanor and felony charges listed above.
Bradburn made his $3,000 bond shortly after 6 p.m. on Jan. 21, and the Towns County Sheriff’s Office transported him to the Union County Jail for booking there under two felony counts of making false statements and two felony counts of violation of oath by a public officer.
He posted his $7,000 bond in Union County later that evening, after which the Union County Sheriff’s Office drove him to the Hall County Jail in Gainesville, where he was booked in after midnight under the same felony charges filed in Union County.
According to his Hall County booking info, because Bradburn is a former law enforcement officer, jailers there housed him separately from the general population until his release, and he subsequently made his $18,900 bond a little before 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 22.
The Towns County Sheriff’s Office terminated Bradburn’s employment on Dec. 20, 2024, about a month before his arrest; he was a Towns County deputy for roughly two and a half months, having taken his oath of office in early October 2024.
TCSO declined to comment on the reason for his termination, citing confidentiality around personnel matters, but the decision came a week after the GBI began investigating the shooting, and the day after two consecutive days of alleged false statements eventually charged by GBI.
Immediately prior to his TCSO employment, Bradburn served as a deputy in the Union County Sheriff’s Office.
UCSO said Bradburn began working as a jailer on June 7, 2022, and that he became a deputy on Sept. 25, 2023. On Sept. 17, 2024, Bradburn resigned from his position for personal reasons after being confronted with off-duty conduct.
No further information was provided regarding his employment at the Union County Sheriff’s Office, which cited personnel matters.
As highlighted in area media, Bradburn was maintaining his innocence following his arrest, and he is presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law.
In terms of next steps in the case, Enotah Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jeff Langley said he could potentially seek indictments during the January terms of the of the Union County and Towns County Grand Juries, which continue through June.
“It’s a pending case,” Langley said. “I can’t make further comment on it other than what is within the warrants. Probable cause was found. He’s been arrested in each of the counties. The GBI is continuing their investigation.
“Once that investigation is completed, we’ll review that and make decisions about grand jury presentations.”
“This investigation is active and ongoing,” per the GBI. “Anyone with information is encouraged to call Towns County 911 or the GBI Tipline at 800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile application.”
Reportedly, investigators are looking into a GoFundMe account that may have been set up by a third party to assist Bradburn after the shooting. It was not known at press time if he authorized the creation of the account or accessed any of the funds raised. The fundraiser is now inactive.
