ATLANTA (AP) – A former Georgia sheriff has been chosen to lead the state Department of Public Safety on an interim basis after its prior chief resigned in the aftermath of a cheating scandal involving state troopers.
Former Tift County Sheriff Gary Vowell, who retired from office in 2012, was approved to step in as Georgia’s interim public safety commissioner by the agency’s board Wednesday, Gov. Brian Kemp announced.
“Gary Vowell is a respected and trusted leader within Georgia’s law enforcement community,” Kemp said in a news release, “and he is a strong public servant who is ready to take the helm at the Department of Public Safety.”
Vowell will take over for Col. Mark McDonough, who resigned last week at Kemp’s request.
The turnover at the top of the agency that oversees the Georgia State Patrol comes after an entire graduating class of the State Patrol’s Trooper School was fired or resigned in January over accusations of cheating on an online exam.