3 officers resign after incident at restaurant that left 1 charged

Cop reportedly struck ex, was released from jail on $3,500 bond.

A night out at The Battery last Friday proved costly for three now-former Sandy Springs police officers.

Officer Anthony Sandoval, Sgt. Amanda Stein and Capt. Dave Huffschmidt, previously the commander of the Multi-Agency North Metro SWAT team, tendered their resignations this week. Sandoval’s departure came as no surprise after he was accused of hitting his ex-wife outside a restaurant in the entertainment complex adjacent to SunTrust Park in Cobb County. He was charged with simple battery and domestic violence.

But it’s unclear why Stein and Huffschmidt, veteran officers with more than 22 years experience with Sandy Springs police, felt compelled to quit. Department spokesman Sgt. Sam Worsham said they were not implicated in the domestic incident and face no criminal charges.

“There was no obstruction with the investigation or anything like that,” Worsham said.

But the investigation into Sandoval’s conduct uncovered unspecified “internal policy violations” that apparently forced Stein and Huffschmidt’s hands. Worsham would not say whether their infractions were firing offenses.

Two other officers on the scene have been cleared of any wrongdoing and are back at work.

Sandoval’s former wife initially blamed her bloody lip on an accident in which she tripped and fell, according to the incident report by Cobb police. But a security officer told police he witnessed a tall man in a gray hoodie pick up the woman, believed to be Sandoval, slam her onto the sidewalk and punch her in the face with a clenched fist. The report said another man had to pull Sandoval off the woman.

Sandoval faces two counts of misdemeanor domestic violence and one simple battery charge. He was released from the Cobb jail on a $3,500 bond.