Retiring Cobb police chief says he’s leaving department in a good place

Now, it’s time to relax, spend time with his family and help with the family real estate business, VanHoozer said. The 56-year-old says it was his personal decision to retire.

“Things are looking great for the department,” VanHoozer said. “It’s a good time to leave while things are going smooth and you can hand off a stable environment, a good crime rate, a good hiring environment, a good community trust environment to another chief. So it’s a little bit smoother than leaving when things are not so great.”

VanHoozer’s retirement means that two metro Atlanta county law enforcement agencies will be hiring a new top cop. But the situations are very different.

On Feb. 21, DeKalb County’s first female police chief told The AJC the choice to step down was made for her. Mirtha Ramos was called into the chief operating officer’s office and told to step away from her duties, effective immediately. The DeKalb police department’s second-in-command, Gregory Padrick, was named interim chief, according to DeKalb government spokesperson Dionna Smith.

VanHoozer said he isn’t sure who will replace him. But the next Cobb chief will take over a department that he says has made impressive strides in reducing crime, while improving officer training and the community’s trust.

Like many agencies, Cobb police saw increased crime during the height of the pandemic, he said. VanHoozer said stranger-to-stranger crimes dropped, but “personal” crimes increased, including domestic violence. In recent years, crime has dropped, he said.

Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com

Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com

“We’ve had a great three years,” VanHoozer said. “Last year was just a phenomenal drop. We’ve never seen a drop like it. Crime is very low.”

The retiring chief credits says key things have helped his department succeed, including being technologically-savvy and having extremely dedicated officers, along with a supportive structure.

A new defensive tactics program was difficult to launch because of the additional training hours required by officers, temporarily taking them off regular duties. But the extra training in areas such as de-escalation and use of force is vital for keeping the community and officers safe, VanHoozer said.

It was the department’s use of technology that helped capture a man accused of shooting five women, killing one, inside a Midtown medical building in May 2023. Deion Patterson led officers on a massive manhunt, but was arrested eight hours later in Cobb, thanks to cameras and license-plate readers.

After Patterson’s arrest, VanHoozer said the department’s technology helps with “precision policing” so that officers know they have the right suspect in a case. Additionally, the Connect Cobb program allows citizens and businesses to register their cameras so that if a crime occurs in the area, those cameras may contribute valuable evidence.

“Technology is nothing without people,” VanHoozer said at the time. “In the end, it takes police officers with a gun and a badge and a bullet-proof vest to go take these individuals into custody.”

There have also been instances where his department has faced criticism. In December, a family dog was shot and killed by an officer who was investigating a 911 call about a woman screaming for help. The family was vocal in its criticism on social media.

VanHoozer held a news conference after the incident and showed video of the officer’s encounter with the dog.

Body camera footage showed a woman gripping the dog’s collar, but the animal escaped and runs down the front stairs, charging after the officers and barking, the video showed. The officer that fired was fearful of the dog, the chief said. VanHoozer also expressed his sympathy to the family, and his department launched an internal investigation into the incident.

After retiring, VanHoozer says he hasn’t ruled out a future job in law enforcement. For now, he says he’s ready to relax.

“I’m ready to rest, take care of my family, dig into our business a little bit and see where the road takes me,” he said.