Swinney says he has a broad background in law enforcement

Charles Oliver, The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.
·4 min read

May 14—Glenn Swinney has spent more than 40 years in law enforcement in the Whitfield County area, and during that time he says he has taken advantage of every training opportunity available to him. That experience and training, he says, make him prepared to be Whitfield County sheriff. He faces Darren Pierce, Travis Presley, Glenn Tate and Frank Torres in the May 21 Republican Party primary for sheriff.

Dalton Daily Citizen: Why are you seeking office?

Swinney: This has been my lifelong ambition, to be the sheriff of Whitfield County. In 1977 I was hired as a deputy for the Whitfield County Sheriff's Office. I went to the spring class of the police academy. There were approximately 25 people in the class. When I finished, I was awarded the honor graduate plaque. I was in law enforcement in Whitfield County, and a little in Murray County, for 44 years.

DDC: What makes you the most qualified candidate?

Swinney: I started out with the Whitfield County Sheriff's Office. I left there after eight-and-a-half years and went to the Georgia Department of Corrections as a probation officer. My time with that office ended after six-and-a-half years. I was hired by the District Attorney's Office in Whitfield and Murray counties (as an investigator). I stayed there until I got COVID and couldn't do the job. It took me two-and-a-half years to get over COVID.

DDC: What do you think will be the major challenges facing the sheriff's office over the next four years and what will you do to address those challenges?

Swinney: Our major problems in Whitfield County are drugs, thefts and burglaries. If elected sheriff, I plan to get with the deputies and work out some plans to see if we can't attack these problems.

DDC: What are your views regarding government transparency?

Swinney: As much as we can, we will strive to be transparent with our department and keep the voters, taxpayers and commissioners abreast of what we are doing. After all, it is their money, taxpayer dollars, that we are using.

DDC: In just a few words, what else would you like to tell the community about your background, experience, education, qualifications or why a voter should vote for you?

Swinney: As I stated earlier, I was the honor graduate of my police academy class. In the late 1970s and early 1980s we did not get overtime pay. If we worked overtime, we were given comp time off for the time we worked. I used my comp time to take classes and go to college.

Brenau University, in Gainesville, set up classes all around the state for law enforcement officers so they could get their college education. I went there and studied criminal justice and business administration. I have a double major from that university, a bachelor of science in criminal justice and business administration.

I took all the classes I thought I would need, as I wanted to be a detective, at the police academy in Atlanta and the Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth. I took classes in interviewing and interrogation. I took classes to become a classroom instructor. I took firearm instructor classes. I have taught at the Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth. I've taught classes in Rome. I taught a class at Dalton State College. That was just a one-day deal. I also qualified all of our people at the District Attorney's Office on firearms and firearms safety. I took classes in burglary investigation, homicide investigation, robbery investigation, vice investigations, motor vehicle theft investigation.

I was granted permission to attend the Georgia Bureau of Investigation special agent school. I took the same classes their agents took and graduated third in my class. I took the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration drug agent class. I set up a board to hold samples of different kinds of drugs that I used when talking to different groups so parents would know what they were looking at if they found them in their children's belongings.

I was responsible for child abuse and child molestation cases that came to the sheriff's office. As part of my duties with the District Attorney's Office I helped set up the domestic violence protocols.