Austell’s longtime police chief, whose department is being investigated by the GBI, stepped down Tuesday, according to city and police officials.
Bob Starrett’s retirement comes about two weeks after the state agency opened a probe into his department’s K-9 unit. The abrupt departure brings an end to Starrett’s 44-year law enforcement career, one in which he spent more than 25 years as the top cop in Austell.
In September, Starrett announced his plans to retire at the end of January, according to Austell Mayor Ollie Clemons Jr. The chief tendered his resignation to Clemons on Tuesday.
“I can’t really answer as to why he moved it up,” the mayor told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday. “But yes, he did move it up.”
Starrett could not be reached for comment Thursday or Friday.
Clemons’ transition plan included appointing Deputy Chief Natalie Poulk to be the department’s acting chief Sept. 29. Poulk, a 22-year veteran of the force, began overseeing all of the day-to-day police operations for the city. Her salary as acting chief went up nearly $11,000 to just shy of $104,000, according to city payroll records obtained by the AJC.
Starrett, meanwhile, was tasked with revamping the department’s internal policies, a painstaking task that Clemons said consumed his focus.
“It needed updating. And that policy in and of itself, it was an extensive amount of hands-on that would’ve taken all day working on it to get it in the state that it needed to be,” Clemons said. “It was just an effective means of transitioning, really.”
Even though he worked from home for his final 11 weeks with the department, Starrett retained his role as chief. There was never a public announcement about the shakeup. In fact, a picture of Starrett on the city’s website Friday morning still identified him as chief while Poulk remained listed as deputy chief.
Clemons indicated the website would be corrected next week.
“We let our external partners know to reach out to her (Poulk) for direction of the department,” the mayor said. “Based on the fact that we were in a retirement transition and we still had the chief (Starrett) working on an internal policy while she (Poulk) was acting in a day-to-day role, there was no announcement made.”
Austell officials said the planned transition predated recent turmoil of a GBI investigation into the police department’s K-9 unit. A spokesperson from the state agency this week confirmed that Starrett is the focus of the probe that began Nov. 29.
“The Austell Police Department asked the GBI to look into allegations of wrongdoing by Chief Bob Starrett surrounding the Austell (PD) K-9 Unit,” the GBI said.
Both Poulk and Clemons told the AJC the investigation began when the city received an open records request from a local TV station. The request was for veterinarian bills for police canines.
Poulk said when she went to the Bullard Animal Hospital, which treats the dogs, to get some of the bills for the open records request, the animal clinic would not turn them over to her.
“That set off a couple of red flags,” she said. “But there were a couple questions on the paperwork that I did have here, and I wanted to make sure it was clear. ... I tried to reach out and get some clarity on it just to make sure we are 100% transparent on what was going on.”
A representative for Bullard Animal Hospital declined to comment Friday.
While GBI officials named Starrett specifically, Poulk and Clemons said they made no allegations against him. They suggested he was identified as the focus of the investigation because of his capacity as the department’s chief. Starrett also ran the K-9 unit for years.
“We did not ask them to look into the wrongdoings of the chief,” Clemons said. “We asked them to look into why they were not forthcoming with our bills. That just seemed a little odd to us.”
Starrett’s law enforcement career in Georgia began in 1977 when he became a deputy for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, according to Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council records. He remained in Douglasville until he joined the Austell Police Department as chief in January 1995, city officials said.
He was one of seven members appointed to the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, a panel that state lawmakers created in 2019 to regulate and oversee licensing for Georgia’s medical marijuana program. Georgia House Speaker David Ralston sent Starrett a letter Dec. 10 rescinding his appointment on the commission.
While Poulk has been installed as interim chief, Clemons said city officials will work to find a permanent successor early next month. Austell’s policy dictates the city try to recruit a candidate internally before looking elsewhere.
Clemons said Poulk would be considered as a replacement. She joined the department in 1999.
Poulk expressed interest this week, saying she will likely apply for the post.
“The city’s been good to me all these years, so it just feels right,” she said.
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