Ex-Colbert Co. deputy sheriff faces assault charge

COLBERT Co., Ala. (WAFF) - A former Colbert County deputy sheriff is facing an assault charge stemming from an incident that happened during his tenure with the sheriff’s office.

Eric Puryear was fired in January 2023, according to Captain John Harkins of the Colbert County Sheriff’s Office. Harkins said Puryear had at least two complaints filed against him in 2022, one in February and one in December. The earlier of which, led to an indictment from a Colbert County Grand Jury for assault.

Harkins said Puryear was fired after the second complaint was made about a separate incident last December.

According to Harkins, the day Sheriff Eric Balentine took office, he received a letter from a Birmingham law office asking him to preserve any evidence related to that December complaint. Harkins said the new sheriff immediately asked his command staff to look into the complaint. After reviewing body camera footage of the December incident, Puryear was placed on administrative leave and subsequently fired.

A warrant was issued for Puryear’s arrest on the assault charge on March 9.

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