DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson has appointed Gregory Padrick as chief of police.
Padrick has served the DeKalb County Police Department for 28 years, according to the announcement made on Dec. 10. Since February, Padrick had served as interim police chief after former chief Mirtha Ramos, DeKalb’s first female and longest serving police chief in over 20 years, stepped down.
“Join us in celebrating the appointment of Gregory Padrick as DeKalb County’s new Chief of Police,” Cochran-Johnson said in a statement. “We look forward to his leadership and commitment to public safety as we continue moving our county forward.”
Earlier this year, Cochran-Johnson held a press conference about her plans to invest $10 million in recruitment efforts after the police department had lost hundreds of officers. During the February conference, she noted that staffing was down to 531 officers, and the department needed to have about 1,100.
During a November public safety meeting, Padrick shared that the county invested $8 million in E-911 upgrades to provide state-of-the-art call-taking and dispatching, which has improved the county’s overall on-site call response times by more than 21 percent in eight months.
Padrick, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and FBI National Academy graduate, previously held key roles across the Uniform Division and Criminal Investigation Division, rising from patrol officer to commander in both areas. His experience spans homicide, auto theft, narcotics, HIDTA, intelligence, and major case investigations, as well as roles in Internal Affairs and the Office of the Chief.
“I am deeply honored to continue serving the residents of DeKalb County,” Padrick said in a statement. “Our department is filled with exceptional professionals, and I look forward to strengthening public trust, enhancing safety, and advancing innovative policing.”