DeKalb County Police Department

[3] From the department's inception until the end of prohibition in 1933, a DeKalb County Police officer's primary responsibility was to apprehend bootleggers.

Officers Samuel Gentry, Lewell Henderson, Miles Phillips, and Charles Wright were all killed in incidents involving suspected bootleggers.

[4] During the remainder of the 1930s, the Department's primary focus was the Enforcement of Traffic regulations and local county ordinances At the beginning of the 1940s, DeKalb had just 20 police officers.

The radios, along with the addition of a new fleet of patrol cars in 1949 allowed officers to quickly respond to calls, that same year DeKalb Police moved into headquarters located in the county complex on Camp Drive.

In the 1950s the department added more officers, formed Traffic Enforcement, Criminal Investigation, and a Records and Identification section, and responsibilities between the Sheriff and the Police Dept.

[3] By 1968, the department had expanded to a force of approximately 200 officers, and added new Specialized Investigation units such as Robbery/Homicide, Juvenile, and Narcotics to the Dept.

moved into a newly built public safety complex on Camp Circle in Decatur which when constructed had a helipad installed on the roof.

[6] In February 2009, under mounting pressure from the media, the public, and officers within the department, newly elected county CEO Burrell Ellis placed Bolton on administrative leave.

[6] Major William O'Brien, a 24-year veteran of the department, was named acting chief after Bolton was placed on administrative leave.

Both helicopters are equipped with FLIR, Forward Looking Infrared cameras that allow the flight crew to locate individuals in total darkness.

[13] Captain and DeKalb County Sheriff-Elect Derwin Brown was killed on December 16, 2000 by his predecessor and defeated rival Sidney Dorsey.