About the Fulton County
Police Department
On December 20, 1853, Fulton County was created out of portions of Cherokee, Coweta, Fayette, Gwinnett, and Henry
counties. This new County Government would provide law enforcement through the newly created Sheriff's Department for
the next 46 years.
On February 4, 1900, the Fulton
County Commission organized a small unit of peace officers and named them the Inspectors of Roads and Bridges. Their Chief
was Mr. Allison O. Turner. These 13 Officers received their arrest powers through the Fulton County Sheriff's Department
and patrolled the unincorporated areas of Fulton County, paying special attention to those areas just outside the Atlanta
city limits.
In 1909, the Georgia General Assembly
passed Statute #236 which allowed counties to create and maintain police departments with the same power of arrest the Sheriffs
of Georgia possessed. On October 6, 1909, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners approved an act which established, for
the first time, a genuine Fulton County Police Department. Chief Turner, who had retired in 1907, was replaced by Zack F.
Rowan. It could be argued that Chief Rowan was the first official Police Chief of Fulton County.
Source;
fultonpolice.org
