DAWSONVILLE, Ga. – Dawson County Sheriff Jeff Johnson and Sgt. Larry Busher have gone into full CYA mode.

Johnson blames Fetch Your News for reporting the truth about Busher’s inability to find his posterior with both hands and a GPS app. Busher blames 911 operator Miki Mullis for giving him “faulty information” regarding an overturned vehicle on Nimblewill Gap last month.

FYN broke the news this week that it took Busher more than six hours to arrive at the location even though Cody Skinner — the man who reported the accident via ham radio — said he provided the exact latitude/longitude coordinates and used the GPS feature on his ham radio to beacon the exact location “so the other operator could see my exact location.”

Angered by our report, Johnson lashed out, labeling FYN “Fake News.” The sheriff even accused us of sensationalizing the report. But folks, even Hollywood can’t make this crazy stuff up.

It’s not surprising that Johnson is looking for a scapegoat. Johnson will soon complete his third year in office and his bumbling incompetence and dishonesty will likely cost him his office in the 2020 election.

Dawson County citizens got their first glimpse of his dishonesty in 2017 when he sued the county for a bigger budget. Judge Fred A. Bishop ruled against Johnson and, in rendering his verdict, scolded the sheriff for his dishonesty.

Next came the badminton scandal that saw an entire night patrol shift go AWOL for a quick game at a local school.

Then came a string of arrests of detention officers for offenses ranging from sexual misconduct with an inmate to assault and battery on their wives.

Now FYN is investigating an unsubstantiated report that the sheriff’s office has overbilled the Dawson County School System by $5,000 for officers who direct traffic at the schools. We will keep our readers informed.

As we have done in the past, we will reach out to Johnson for his side of the story. But we won’t hold our breath. Johnson never returns our calls.

The bottom line  is Johnson has lost control of the sheriff’s office and needs to be replaced.

As for Busher, he seems to have taken a page out of Johnson’s playbook in trying to blame the 911 operator for his failure to reach last month’s accident scene. But his explanation doesn’t hold water.

The truth is Busher was afraid of being ambushed. He said as much on the audio recording of the 911 call.

“I’m not (expletive deleted) going anywhere,” Busher said emphatically. “Randy Harkness is going with me.” (NOTE: Harkness was off duty at the time). “Could be we’ve got some hermit living up on the mountain named Bill trying to lure a (expletive deleted) cop up there.”

These two men should not reflect badly upon the other 99 percent of the men and women who serve the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office. They are among the finest law enforcement officers in the state. It is sad they have to function under the failed leadership of Sheriff Jeff Johnson.

But, have faith. 2020 is an election year and very likely Johnson’s final year in office.