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Hampton police chief to be Locust Grove’s top cop

Derrick Austin.
Derrick Austin.
By Monroe Roark for the AJC
April 22, 2021

Derrick Austin is moving from one police department within Henry County to another. He announced April 8 in a statement to the citizens of Hampton that he would be stepping down as police chief effective April 16. He pointed out that the sole reason for his departure is to assume the role of police chief in Locust Grove, saying that Locust Grove is his hometown and he felt it was an opportunity “to serve the very community I was raised in.”

Austin has been with the Hampton Police Department nearly 22 years. His predecessor in Locust Grove, Jesse Patton, was chief for two decades until his Feb. 1 retirement.

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Monroe Roark for the AJC
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