In just 6 months on the job, the GBI’s new director has racked up a laundry list of high-profile cases.
In just 6 months on the job, the GBI’s new director has racked up a laundry list of high-profile cases.
The new director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has had a busy first six months on the job.
Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Wynne Mike spoke to Register, who will reach the six-month mark on February 25.
Since he has been in office, the Register has taken on a laundry list of high-profile cases, from high-profile human trafficking cases to gang allegations to cases of excessive use of force by officers.
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Since becoming director of the Register Agency, there have been gang investigations in more than 80 counties.
“A lot has happened in the last six months,” Register said. “I don’t think people understand the extent of the gang problem in Georgia. I didn’t come until I got here.”
Register said he immediately faced dozens of domestic terrorism incidents linked to opposition to a proposed Atlanta police public safety training facility on Atlanta-owned land in DeKalb County.
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In response, the Register called for the development of a federal, state and local task force that included prosecutors from Attorney General Chris Carr’s office and DeKalb County DA Sherry Boston’s office.
“What I’ve seen is that there needs to be more focus on the investigation, so the development of the task force with the GBI leading the investigation portion.”
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In the middle of the investigation, a man camping near the site, Manuel Terran, shot and wounded a state trooper and was killed in return fire, the Register said.
“I’m not going to dispute Mr. Teran’s character, but the fact is, for whatever reason, he made a conscious decision to fire on law enforcement and they fired in self-defense.”
The Register said that to resolve the controversy swirling around the shooting, the GBI took the extraordinary step of releasing a photo of Terran’s gun, ballistics data linking it to the shooting and a gun trace linking the gun to Terran.
“There were so many misrepresentations that we owned up to releasing the information to the citizens of Georgia,” the Register said.
The Register said that even before he took over, the GBI was deep into a complex investigation into narcotics, corruption and was increasingly focused on Smith State Prison, which in recent weeks had arrested now-former warden Brian Adams on corruption-related charges.
“The GBI has a history of being an impartial investigative entity when it comes to public corruption,” the Register said.
He said an example of the GBI’s ability to conduct impartial investigations comes from a request he received Friday from the Paulding County Sheriff to investigate a deputy’s body last year.
The recently viral video has sparked controversy. Deputies said Tyler Canaris was resisting arrest, but his attorneys said the video clearly shows the officer knocking Canaris to the ground without provocation.
The Register told Winn that he took that inquiry without hesitation.
“We’re here for our local partners, but we’re also here for the citizenry,” Register said
He said two-thirds of the people he supervises, like crime lab scientists, are not agents, but he wants to take care of all GBI employees.
“Man, what great people work here,” said Register. “They are dedicated to the mission, and I want to make sure they are adequately compensated to be where they want to be at GBI.”
The Register said the GBI is such a highly-regarded organization that it has more than 200 applicants for just eight special agent vacancies.
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