The commander of the Hall County Sheriff’s Office Jail Division is retiring.

Capt. Mark Bandy, who has been in the job since January 2009, submitted his retirement notice on Friday. His retirement is effective Oct. 19.

He has served with the sheriff’s office since June 1992. He began his career as a jailer, going on to work in Uniform Patrol before returning to the Jail Division in various supervisory roles until accepting his current position.

The jail has 1,026 beds, with a male and female work-release unit housing 136 beds and the house arrest program that manages up to 60 inmates daily, according to the sheriff’s office website.

Bandy, who couldn’t be reached for comment Monday, is “retiring to further his education in preparation for future endeavors,” said Sgt. Stephen Wilbanks, spokesman for the sheriff’s office.

Wilbanks said that 1st Lt. Danny Woods will be named interim commander until a new one is appointed by the sheriff.

Sheriff Steve Cronic, who also couldn’t be reached for comment, ends his term Dec. 31, after deciding not to seek a fourth four-year term. He will be replaced by Gerald Couch.

In 2010, Bandy was involved in an incident at the jail in which he tapped inmates in the head with his foot while they lay on the ground handcuffed. He was suspended one day for unbecoming conduct in that incident.

In that same incident, jailer Dustin Charlton was suspended for five days without pay for hitting an inmate in the face. He was fired in September after an alleged excessive force incident at the jail.