Milledgeville fire chief arrested on simple battery charge

Published 2:07 pm Wednesday, November 29, 2023

A warrant was issued for the arrest of Milledgeville Fire Chief William Collier this morning.

Collier was charged with a misdemeanor offense of simple battery, records show.

The warrant was issued Wednesday morning following a brief hearing before Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Superior Court Chief Judge Brenda H. Trammell in Baldwin County Superior Court.

Collier’s arrest comes after an independent investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Region 6 Office in Milledgeville.

He was allowed to turn himself in to the jail staff at the Baldwin County Law Enforcement Center Wednesday morning. He was booked at the jail at 11:46 a.m., according to jail records.

The veteran firefighter official, who came to Milledgeville following a long career with the Atlanta Fire Department, was expected to be released after posting $500 bail.

During the brief probable cause hearing before Trammell, GBI Special Agent Zachory Plock presented the facts of what his investigation had revealed.

He was accompanied at the judge’s bench by Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Assistant District Attorney Tammy Coffey.

Collier did not attend the hearing, nor did his attorney.

In the affidavit portion of the warrant, which was viewed at the sheriff’s office by The Union-Recorder, it is alleged that on Oct. 22, 2023, Collier “did intentionally make physical contact of an insulting and provoking nature with Willie Tennyson at 155 Ga. 49.”

The address where the incident took place is the Baldwin High School gymnasium, where a benefit basketball game was taking place.

Tennyson previously worked full-time as a firefighter for both Baldwin County Fire Rescue and the city fire department. He resigned from as a county firefighter earlier this year and had been terminated from the city fire department before he attended the benefit basketball game. He reportedly went to the game donning a T-shirt that had been specially made for city firefighters participating in the event.

According to the affidavit, “Collier grabbed Tennyson by his shirt and was able to remove Tennyson’s shirt from his body in front of a large crowd of people.”

Milledgeville City Manager Hank Griffeth said he anticipates that a special called city council meeting will be held soon to discuss the matter. He said he would get in touch with Mayor Mary Parham-Copelan, as well as city alder members and city attorney Jimmy Jordan to discuss what they wished to do.

The city manager said he could not talk about the matter publicly since it relates to a personnel issue.

Collier recently celebrated five years of employment with the city.