HALL COUNTY, Ga. — ‘No systemic failure:’ GA DDS pushes back on claims of department issues by sheriff accused of DUI
On Monday night, Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch was arrested in Dawson County for failing to maintain his lane and violating limits of a restricted driving permit.
On Tuesday, the sheriff’s attorney said the issue at hand was a set of “systemic failures” in the Georgia Department of Driver Services. Now, DDS officials are pushing back on those claims.
“There has been no ‘systemic failure’ within the Georgia Department of Driver Services with the handling of Sheriff Couch’s driver’s license status,” DDS said in a statement.
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Couch received the restricted permit following his February arrest for driving under the influence.
Blake Poole, Couch’s attorney, told Channel 2 Action News in a statement that the sheriff has remained sober since his arrest and has complied with every condition of his bond following the DUI.
However, Poole said the arrest in Dawson County was “a direct product of a systemic failure within the Georgia Department of Driver Services.”
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According to Poole, Couch’s arrest was due to confusion over which license was valid, what the rules for his operation of a vehicle were and contradictory communications from DDS personnel.
Among the issues, Poole told Channel 2’s Candace McCowan that at one point, DDS said his current license would be valid through May 27. At another time, DDS told him he must use a limited permit to drive, then said last week that he would not need a limited permit, according to Poole.
“These contradictions appear to confuse the local DDS personnel as much as anyone else, which is precisely the problem,” Poole said.
Poole confirmed that couch had a limited permit, but said the correspondence from DDS did not say there were limits on where he could legally drive, adding that “he cannot be expected to comply with conditions DDS has never clearly communicated” and said the failures at DDS included issues with the records system for the state, experienced by several deputies involved in his most recent arrest.
In response to those claims, DDS issued a statement saying the confusion was not a result of miscommunication or strange rules for DDS, and that the department had clearly communicated the restrictions, which were even printed on the limited driving permit.
According to DDS:
A Department of Driver Services Limited Permit is just that – limited. It is issued to a customer whose license is suspended to enable them to drive to work, school or for medical treatment. The law applies to all limited permit holders regardless of their profession or circumstances. Customers, including law enforcement officers, and attorneys are informed of these restrictions through the law and acknowledgement on the permit application.
The temporary-paper Limited Permit that he was issued in person lists the restrictions in detail: Driving to/from and duties of employment, medical care/prescriptions, school/college, alcohol drug treatment, driver education, driver improvement, court, probation, community service, and transporting unlicensed immediate family members for work/school/medical/prescriptions.
— Georgia Department of Driver Services
Department officials said the permanent, laminated card sent to Couch’s home address was also clearly labeled as “Limited Permit with Restriction Codes on the front of the card” and that the explanation for those limits was printed on the back of the license.
A full list of restrictions on limited permits can be found online here.
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