NCIS AGENT RETURNS TO DUTY

One of two drug agents placed on administrative leave after an
incident that resulted in the shooting death of 28-year-old Jonathan
Ayers is back on duty, according to Kyle Bryant, the head of a
three-county drug task force.

Bryant said the agent who has returned to work was on administrative
leave due to injuries after he was struck by Ayers' vehicle.

He said the second agent, who fired his weapon during the incident,
remains on administrative leave with pay as the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation continues its investigation of the incident.

This summer, the Narcotics Criminal Investigations and Suppression
(NCIS) team has conducted many investigations that have netted dozens
of suspects involved in dealing drugs, primarily in Stephens County.

However, the entity is under scrutiny after Ayers was shot as he
attempted to flee when agents approached him for questioning.

The NCIS is headquartered in Habersham County, and Bryant said he has
one agent from each of the three counties under the agency's purview —
Habersham, Stephens and Rabun — and one agent from the city of Cornelia.

He said the NCIS could gain two additional agents from Habersham
County if a grant is approved to fund those positions.

"Each county has their own agent that they hire from within and then
put to the [NCIS]," said Bryant, adding his agents request to be
appointed to the NCIS through their sheriff.

Bryant declined to comment on which specific area agents were involved
in the incident with Ayers, saying that it would come out after the
GBI's report is concluded.

Speaking in generalities, Bryant said the agents work throughout the
three-county area and that none have a specific area they investigate
within the region.

"We have done some [investigations] in Habersham and Rabun, but the
majority of our work has been into Stephens County and the City of
Toccoa," said Bryant.

"During this particular time, there's been a lot of activity in
Stephens County,” he said.

Throughout the summer, NCIS has uncovered in Stephens County drug
operations such as an underground cargo-trailer that was being used to
grow highly-potent marijuana, a methamphetamine lab, and a location
that had security cameras mounted outside the home.

Bryant said a lot of work is put into each of the search warrants and
investigations they conduct.

"We may come in doing paperwork but get a report of drug activity," he
said. "Any search warrant we do is discussed. There's a pre-search
warrant meeting. They're not done just off the spur of the moment."

As the investigation continues into the shooting incident, he said the
NCIS will continue operating as normal — though less one agent.

"We're still going to go out and do the job and do the war on drugs in
each county," said Bryant. "There's a need in communities to get rid
of the problem."

The NCIS has an executive committee that includes the three county
sheriffs.

Committee chairman and Rabun County Sheriff Frank Andrews said the
committee spent time during March and April discussing the NCIS policies.

"We were working on policies prior to forming the NCIS," said Andrews.
"A lot of it was operational [policies] we were trying to update," he
said.