Georgia sheriff arrested after shooting pledges to stay on job

ATLANTA (Reuters) - A Georgia sheriff who was arrested after shooting and wounding a woman outside his jurisdiction said on Thursday that he will remain on the job. Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill, 50, was arrested on Wednesday on a misdemeanor charge of reckless conduct and released from the Gwinnett County jail after posting bail, police said. He is accused of wounding Gwenevere McCord, 43, a friend and real estate agent, by shooting her in the abdomen in an Atlanta subdivision’s model home on Sunday. According to the arrest warrant, the sheriff was “practicing police tactics” when his gun discharged. “While focused on the recovery and healing of Gwenevere, I will simultaneously continue with my duties and responsibilities as the sheriff of Clayton County,” Hill said in a statement posted on Thursday on his department's Facebook page. Hill, who was acquitted by a jury in 2013 of corruption charges that he misused county-issued credit cards, has refused to discuss the case with police. McCord has not been physically able to do so, authorities said. Because Hill faces a misdemeanor charge rather than a felony, Georgia law does not allow Governor Nathan Deal to appoint a committee of elected officials to recommend whether the sheriff should be suspended while the case is pending, said Deal spokesman Brian Robinson. (Reporting by David Beasley; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Lisa Lambert)