Madison Police Chief William “Bill” Ashburn has retired, and the city has hired an interim chief while it searches for a new permanent replacement to run the police department.
After 42 years in law enforcement, Ashburn recently announced his retirement. He began his career in law enforcement with the Georgia State Patrol in 1982. Retiring from GSP after 31 years, he was named the City of Madison’s chief of police in 2013 and served in that capacity for more than 11 years.
While he acknowledges that leaving law enforcement will be a transition, Ashburn says he has no regrets and is looking forward to relaxing times spent with family.
Madison Mayor Fred Perriman thanked Ashburn for his service and wished him well in the next chapter of his life. With the retirement of Ashburn, the City of Madison announced on April 18 the appointment of Chief Roy B. Whitehead Jr. as interim police chief.
Whitehead has a degree in criminal justice and has attended Georgia State University College of Law. He has taken more than 4,000 hours of Law Enforcement Advanced Training and has also taught numerous courses throughout his career.
Whitehead served as the City of Snellville’s Police Chief for 17 years before his retirement.
The Snellville Police Department is a Georgia Certified Police Department with a staff of 56.
Prior to his service in Snellville, Whitehead served for 10 years as chief in Summerville, S.C., a city with a population of 52,000 and with 80 department staff. Before that, he worked for the Athens-Clarke County Police Department for 17 years, where he rose through the ranks to lieutenant and shift commander.
Whitehead has also been hired by Law Enforcement Associates, a contractor of the U.S.
Department of Justice, to provide training and technical assistance for cities implementing Community Oriented Policing.
Whitehead served as vice chairman of the Peace Officers Standards and Training Council (P.O.S.T.) Advisory Board, which sets the standards for Police officers in Georgia.
“I am pleased that Chief Whitehead has accepted the interim chief position,” Madison City Manager John Klimm said. “He is highly regarded for his service in Georgia and his years of experience in Georgia will serve us well. Chief Whitehead has been asked to initiate the process of state certification for our police department. Our police department employees are second to none and we want to continue to make the department better.”