Copyright 2010 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Megan Matteucci
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
DEKALB, Ga. After 18 months of interim leadership, DeKalb County will have a permanent police chief.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis will appoint William O’Brien as police chief today.
“It hasn’t sunk in,” O’Brien told the AJC on Wednesday. “When I started 25 years ago, I never had chief in my sights at all. I always thought I would love to make it to the level of lieutenant or captain. Making it to chief has definitely surpassed any goals I’ve ever had in my career.”
O’Brien, a DeKalb County native, has served as acting chief since February 2009, when Ellis fired former Chief Terrell Bolton.
Ellis said no national search was needed because he had the right man to lead the force, but just needed to give him time to complete the necessary requirements, including finishing his college degree.
“He came up through the ranks and is respected by the officers. He has the leadership skills and the support of the men and women that work for the Police Department,” Ellis told the AJC.
O’Brien, 47, graduated from the FBI Academy in June and received his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Columbia Southern University in August.
O’Brien said his goals remain the same — making the county safer and improving conditions for his 1,060 officers.
Sgt. Jeff Wiggs, president of the DeKalb Fraternal Order of Police, said he hopes the appointment means stability for the force.
“He’s good for the job and he does support us in doing away with furlough days, but the police chief can only be as successful as the resources given to him,” Wiggs said. “We can bring in Superman for the chief, but if the board of commissioners won’t give him the budget, he’s going to fail.”
The chief has inherited some of the lowest morale in recent years, stemming from county budget cutbacks. The County Commission ended raises and cut paid holidays for all county employees. While most employees quietly accepted the pay cut, police officers revolted by launching a traffic ticket strike after some officers were forced to work for free on holidays.
In response, O’Brien implored the commission in August to restore raises or the holidays. The commission ignored his pleas, but agreed to pay officers who work on holidays instead mandating seven furlough days.
It was one of the first times a county department head had spoken up for his employees during the tough budget year.
“Right now morale is hurting,” O’Brien said Wednesday. “These officers see a lot of negative things — raises by the board of commissioners to their staff and other decisions made politically down in Decatur — that crush their morale. But when it comes down to fighting crime, they put those issues behind them and jump into action.”
Crime statistics for September show all violent crimes except murder are down in DeKalb compared to last year. The department reported a 43 percent drop in rape with 251 reported Jan. 1-Sept. 1, 2009, compared to 144 rapes reported Jan. 1-Sept. 1, 2010.
Robberies are also down 42 percent during the same period, according to crime numbers obtained by the AJC.
Last year, DeKalb saw its lowest murder rates in nine years. From 2008-2009, murder rates in DeKalb dropped almost 44 percent, more than any other area in metro Atlanta, according to the FBI.
However, as of last week, DeKalb had reported 68 homicides, an 8 percent increase from the same time last year.
O’Brien graduated from Redan High School in 1981 and joined the Police Department four years later. In addition to working as a patrol officer, O’Brien worked as a homicide detective, burglary investigator and field operations supervisor for the Interactive Community Policing Unit during his 25-year career. He also served as chief of staff and internal affairs commander, creating a system to detect patterns of police misconduct.
Bolton, the former Dallas police chief, was fired for insubordination, misuse of county property and abuse of compensatory time. He appealed, but a hearing officer threw out the appeal in July.
The county currently is conducting a national search for a fire chief. One of the candidates is O’Brien’s younger brother, Eddie O’Brien, who is now serving as interim fire chief. Their youngest brother, Kevin O’Brien, is an assistant fire chief in Newton County.
The police chief has three children, including a son who is a police officer in Doraville.