HALL COUNTY, Ga. — The Hall County emergency management director has been terminated after allegations he had an intimate encounter with a young hire.
Sources tell Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne that Hall County EMA Director David Kimbrell was abruptly terminated after video surfaced of the encounter.
The termination letter dated Oct. 26 said, in part, "Given the egregious nature of the offense, your employment with Hall County is hereby terminated immediately."
A source told Winne that Kimbrell's termination as the Hall County Emergency Management Agency Director happened in emergency fashion -- suddenly, with no two-week notice.
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The source told Winne that county officials said Kimbrell was fired after video surfaced on a county computer server of Kimbrell engaged in an intimate encounter with a young man who was hired by Hall County Fire Services when Kimbrell was fire chief, a post he held until August 2014.
It is unclear if the hire happened before or after the video was allegedly recorded.
“The Sheriff's Office received a referral from Hall County human resources regarding this case and they asked our department to look into it for the possibility of any criminal activity, so that's what our investigators are doing now,” Deputy Stephen Wilbanks, with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, told Winne.
The termination letter lists five bullet points as policies and/or procedures in violation.
One mentions "conduct or language that could be interpreted as sexual, racial, religious, or other types of harassment.” Another mentions possession of or storage of inappropriate material in the workplace or in any county vehicle.
“At this point, do we even know that there's a crime involved?” Winne asked Wilbanks.
“At this point, we don’t," Wilbanks said. "The investigators are going to review the entire case, all the information that was forwarded from human resources, to determine if there in fact has been a crime committed. At this point, we simply don’t know."
Winne learned that county officials found several county or personal computers in Kimbrell's EMA office.
We do not know who is in possession of them now.
Winne attempted to contact Kimbrell by phone and at home, but Kimbrell did not respond.
Kimbrell has been well thought of in the community. Those who know him said Kimbrell was active in scouting and a youth-related civic club.