Former Clayton County Police Chief Greg Porter said Tuesday he intends to retire rather than run the county’s 911 operation.
Porter's decision comes a little over a week after he was removed as police chief in a controversial decision by the Board of Commissioners. Commissioners voted 3-2 to separate the 911 operation from the police department and make Porter the director of the 60-member department.
“I’m done,” Porter said Tuesday.
Porter said he notified commissioners of his intention to retire effective in mid-July but is waiting for a response from the board regarding some “administrative” issues before officially filing the paperwork. He declined to elaborate. Commission Chairman Jeff Turner said he is aware of Porter’s plan noting that “he gave us an email.”
On Monday, Porter said a “high-ranking officer” of the police department came to his house to get his gun.
“I’ve been involved in Clayton law enforcement for nearly 29 years and now he (Turner) comes out of nowhere taking my weapon leaving me defenseless,” Porter told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “You don’t take a police officer’s weapon leaving me defenseless. That’s disrespectful. It’s retaliation.”
Porter has repeatedly said that his removal as police chief, a job he held for about five years, was a demotion and retaliation for him speaking out against Turner’s efforts to usurp his role as head of the police department. Turner has said the decision to put Porter over the 911 operation was not retaliation.
Porter was set to become 911 director on July 1.
Turner said the decision was made to put Porter at the head of the new separate 911 center because he was best qualified for the job and that he would retain his $154,000 salary.
Turner said the commission will select a new head for the center but it should still be able to operate in the interim.
“We have an operations manager (for 911) and all of our supervisors are knowledgeable with the operations,” Turner said. “And we have the chief operating officer who has oversight of the department.”
Turner said the board will decide Tuesday who to put in charge of the 60-member department.
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