Retired Powder Springs Police Chief Charlie Sewell is returning as the city’s temporary police chief.

The Powder Springs City Council voted 4-1 Monday to approve Sewell’s appointment.

In opposition was Councilwoman Cheryl Sarvis who told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “I have no problem with Charlie Sewell. I have concerns about the process, but I don’t want to say more.”

City Manager Pam Conner said Sewell will begin work Tuesday, be sworn into office Wednesday by Cobb County Judge Phil Taylor and be paid $52.88 per hour with no benefits.

Sewell retired Dec. 31, 2014 after serving as the city’s police chief since Aug. 1, 2011.

Before his first retirement in 2006, Sewell served as the police chief of McMinnville, Tennessee, and, before that, the police chief of Morrow.

Since the resignation of Powder Springs Police Chief John Robison on Jan. 1 to serve as Alpharetta's director of Public Safety, Major Michael Cochran has been serving as the interim police chief.

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Julian Conley listens during opening statements in his trial at Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. The 25-year-old is accused of fatally shooting 8-year-old Secoriea Turner in July 2020. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

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