Henry County has a new top cop.

Mark Amerman, a deputy chief with the Henry County Police Department, has been named chief of police after a six-month search.

“We have great police officers and employees at the Henry County Police Department and I am honored to be appointed as their chief,” Amerman said in a release. “I am very excited about moving the department forward by combining traditional methods and innovative approaches to meet our future challenges.”

Amerman, a 24-year veteran of the department, beat out five other candidates who interviewed for the job. Henry County Sheriff Keith McBrayer served as Henry police chief during the search.

Amerman, who has been the department’s deputy chief for close to four years, served in the nation’s Army Police Corps before he began at the Henry Police Department in 1994.

He will be sworn in Feb. 2.