A 26-year-old Albany Police Department dispatcher is being held without bond in Georgia after officers there charged him with molesting a girl under 16 at a hotel pool outside Atlanta. Blaize Garry Gallimore, who works as a Telecommunications Specialist for the department and lists Watervliet as his residence, was suspended without pay following the arrest, according to the Albany Police Department.
According to DailyVoice.com, Gallimore is charged with two felony counts of child molestation and one count of obstruction or hindering law enforcement, per reporting from the Marietta Daily Journal. The alleged molestation occurred on August 5 inside the pool at the SpringHill Suites by Marietta Atlanta Northwest, located at 230 Interstate North Circle in Cobb County's Cumberland corridor, roughly 1.1 kilometers from Truist Park and The Battery Atlanta, per Hotels.com. The victim is described in the arrest warrant only as a girl under the age of 16.
Cobb County Police Department officers attempted to stop Gallimore on August 9 at the same hotel, according to the arrest warrant. He was driving a blue 2025 Nissan Rogue at the time and, per the warrant, refused to stop and told officers he would not comply. He was arrested the following day, August 10, in the Atlanta area and booked into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, which sits at 1825 County Services Parkway in Marietta and processes all county arrests requiring bond determinations through court proceedings, according to A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds. Gallimore remained in custody without bond as of the newspaper's report.
Albany Department Confirms Suspension, Says Case Unrelated to His Job
The Cobb County Police Department notified the Albany Police Department about the criminal investigation, and the department subsequently suspended Gallimore without pay while administrative action remains pending. Albany Police have stated that Gallimore's charges are unrelated to his work as a telecommunications specialist and unrelated to any matter involving the department itself.
The department said it would defer further comment until both the administrative and criminal investigations are resolved, adding that its commitment to maintaining public trust remains a top priority throughout all investigations, both internally and externally. Gallimore started working for the Albany Police Department in June 2023. Civil Service Commission minutes show he was formally appointed to the non-sworn title of Telecommunications Specialist on June 5, 2023, a role that the city's civil service portal lists with an annual salary range of $53,051 to $64,545 and responsibility for emergency 911 and NYSPIN computer communications.
Under Albany's own Local Law F-2014, newly appointed municipal employees are required to establish residency within the city within 180 days of appointment and maintain it throughout their employment, with noncompliance treated as a voluntary resignation, according to City of Albany Human Resources records. Media reports list Gallimore as living in Watervliet, outside city limits, though the dossier does not indicate whether the department has taken any residency-related administrative action against him. Separately, department directives governing competitive civil service positions subject non-sworn employees like 911 dispatchers to internal disciplinary review and potential termination running alongside any external criminal case.
Georgia Law Sets Severe Penalties If Convicted
It is important to note this Albany Police Department is based in New York, distinct from the Albany Police Department in Georgia that made headlines last month after five former officers there were arrested and terminated when a state audit revealed improper access to that department's license plate reader database, as Hoodline previously reported.
Gallimore's arrest also lands amid a string of recent Georgia cases involving public-serving workers facing child molestation charges. Earlier this month, a 49-year-old man in Jackson County and a former middle school resource officer in Coweta County were both charged in separate cases, according to Hoodline's coverage of the Nicholson child molestation case and the Coweta SRO indictment.
Under Georgia Code § 16-6-4, a first-offense felony child molestation conviction carries a mandatory prison sentence of five to 20 years, mandatory state-provided counseling during incarceration, and required sex offender registration within 72 hours of release, according to Georgia criminal defense legal resources. Georgia law defines child molestation broadly, covering any immoral or indecent act committed with or in the presence of a child under 16 with sexual intent. Under Georgia Code § 42-1-12, anyone convicted of a felony sex crime against a minor must register with the sheriff in their county of residence within that same 72-hour window and remain subject to strict living and employment restrictions afterward, per the Haralson County Sheriff's Office.
Gallimore has not yet had a formal bond hearing scheduled, and it remains unclear whether he has retained an attorney. The charges against him remain pending allegations, and no trial date has been set.
