Gainesville Police officer fired amid domestic abuse investigation

The Gainesville Police Department says one of its officers has been fired after a domestic incident. Collin Merritt is 26 years old, from Flowery Branch. He was arrested last month on what Gainesville Police say were assault and reckless conduct charges.

“We hold our employees at the highest standard as we aim to be pillars of our community. At any point our employees betray our community’s trust or code of conduct, we will take immediate and swift action,” Gainesville Police Chief Jay Parrish says on the Department’s Facebook page. “We will always strive to maintain professionalism, integrity, loyalty, leadership, accountability, and respect. We expect our employees to conduct themselves in a manner to reflect this, on and off duty.”

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