This was officially announced at tonight’s Decatur City Commission meeting. Shortly thereafter the city put out this announcement…
Eight officers in the Decatur Police Department were recognized for their recent promotions by the City Commission at tonight’s meeting. Three officers were promoted from sergeant to lieutenant: Jennifer Ross, Eric Jackson and Billy Woodruff. Five officers were promoted from police officer or police investigator to Sergeant: Dan Bellis, John Bender, Amy Hall, Phillip Nembheard and Kim Parks.
Lt. Jennifer Ross is the department’s Community Information & Education Officer. In this role she coordinates outreach to the community about crime prevention and public education through presentations, workshops and classes. She is also an instructor in the department, including R.A.D. Jennifer started with the Decatur Police Department in 1996 and has served as a communications officer, patrol officer, business district officer, child safety advocate and investigator. She supervised the Criminal Investigation Division from 2009 to 2013. Lt. Ross has received both the department’s Investigator of the Year and Manager of the Year awards.
Lt. Eric Jackson is assigned as the commander of two patrol teams. He has been with the department since 2005. He has previously served as a police officer, field training officer, traffic enforcement officer and patrol supervisor. He also serves as an instructor in the department, to include R.A.D. Lt. Jackson is a previous recipient of the department’s Officer of the Year Award.
Lt. Billy Woodruff is assigned as the commander of two patrol teams. He has been with the department since 2003. He has previously served as a police officer and patrol supervisor. He also serves as a traffic accident reconstructionist.
Sgt. Dan Bellis has been with the department since 2008. He has previously served as a patrol officer, field training officer and investigator. Sgt. Bellis previously served with the U.S. Capitol Police and the Fulton County Police Department.
Sgt. John Bender has been with the department since 2009. He has previously served as a patrol officer and field training officer. Officer Bender has previously received the department’s Officer of the Year award.
Sgt. Amy Hall has been with the department since 2008 and is a R.A.D. instructor. She has previously served as a patrol officer, investigator and evidence custodian for the department. Sgt. Hall previously served with the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.
Sgt. Phillip Nembheard has been with the department since 2009. He has previously served as a patrol officer, field training officer and business district officer. Officer Nembheard has previously received the department’s Officer of the Year award.
Sgt. Kimberly Parks has been with the department since 2010. She has previously served as a patrol officer and school resource officer.
More information about the Decatur Police Department is available at www.DecaturPolice.com. Anyone interested in becoming an officer with the DPD can apply online at www.decaturga.com/jobs.
Congratulations, all! From my observations and experiences, all promotions are well-deserved!!
Totally agree. Congratulations! And thank you for all of your hard work and dedication!
We feel very fortunate to have you all!
What is R.A.D.?
Rape Aggression Defense.
Thank you!
… all around Decatur are R.A.D trained women ready to spring into action…
http://www.decaturmetro.com/2014/12/10/how-to-sign-up-for-decatur-pds-womens-self-defense-course/
I can’t figure out which one is John Bender. He must have changed a whole lot since that Saturday detention.
He’s front row left, smiling at the memory of you. :0)
BIG CONGRATS to these officers for their well deserved promotions!!! Along with them all being excellent in their daily approach to their jobs, they’re genuinely nice folks who are all about community policing. It’s so cool to live in a place where officers and residents really do work together to make a difference.
[ And having served as a hall monitor during the promotions testing and outside evaluations process, I can attest they’ve absolutely earned their new ranks. Talk about a tough and fair process! Super impressed with how DPD goes about it. BIG PROPS to Chief Booker and Deputy Chief Lee for their leadership to ensure fairness always. SUPER PROPS to Captain Kris Boyett for her fierce dedication to the promotions process– she’s definitely Mama Bear! :0) ]
Awesome – congrats! Appreciate all of them but wanted to give a special shout out to Jennifer Ross – really appreciate her updates posted to Nation of Neighbors – some reactive to crimes, and others proactive – so nice!
I really love the police department here!
Check out the police recruitment video for Decatur, compared to Newport Beach, CA:
http://boingboing.net/2012/07/07/police-recruitment-videos-from.html
Interesting contrast.
The Decatur video is a little dated in terms of personnel, but the difference in the message is stark.
Congratulations to all! I just saw Jennifer Ross at the Farmers Market today being awesome and helping with bike registration. I also took the R.A.D. course with her and a couple others from this photo recently. What a great team. We are lucky to have these people protecting us and as such an active part of our community!