A veteran Clayton County police officer who rose through the ranks is the new police chief.
Now Gregory Porter must restore order within his 380-employee police department, which has been without a permanent police chief since late last year and overshadowed by controversy during much of that time. Timothy Robinson, another Clayton police veteran who vied for the top job, was interim chief.
Porter, 47, steps into his new $117,135-a-year job with a full to-do list, including moving the department past the turmoil of the last year.
The previous chief Jeff Turner was ousted amid charges he mismanaged the department. A police department audit showed the department was missing 138 firearms, had failed to destroy 2,000 pounds of confiscated illegal drugs and was not properly disciplining officers who committed offenses. Turner was reassigned to run the county's police training academy, which has since been shut down. Turner left that job in August.
On Monday, Porter, 47, vowed to return the police department to normalcy.
With his family and fiancée at his side, the 23-year veteran was installed Monday as Clayton County's eighth police chief. At the end of the ceremony, in a gesture of solidarity, Porter saluted members of his department who attended the ceremony.
"We wanted someone the community respects and someone the criminals respect," said Clayton County Commissioner Sonna Singleton. "We definitely reached that balance."
Commission Chairman Eldrin Bell had similar comments. "He's an extraordinary example of a police officer who has gone through the ranks," Bell said.
Porter has been in law enforcement since 1985, starting his career with the Georgia Deparment of Corrections. Two years later, he became a Clayton County patrol officer. In his time with the Clayton police department, he has worked as a narcotics agent, a sergeant in the School Resource Officer Unit, and overseen numerous units involving drug enforcement, gangs, bomb squad, animal control, property crimes and 911 service.
Porter's appointment drew praise from citizens and other law enforcement officials.
"I think they made a good choice in picking Chief Porter," said Linda Granger, a Riverdale resident for nearly 20 years. "He listens to what citizens have to say. He's involved in the community. He's very approachable. He's not the type who makes you feel intimidated."
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