After a thorough vetting of 56 applicants, the City of Adairsville is pleased to present Rick Townsend as the candidate for the Adairsville Chief of Police position.
Townsend has over forty one years of law enforcement experience with twenty five years in law enforcement management. He served as chief of police at a 25 person agency and as a commander of a 140 person agency in the metropolitan Atlanta area.
Townsend served as president of the FBI National Academy Associates Georgia Chapter, having graduated from the National Academy in 1989.
In 2008 Townsend was selected by the FBI to serve as the director of the FBI Georgia Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar. The week-long executive management program is held yearly at the FBI Atlanta Field Office. Townsend worked with the GBI, Georgia State Patrol, Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI to develop the program. To date, hundreds of law enforcement executives have completed the program.
Townsend was nominated by GBI Director Vernon Keenan for his continued contribution to the law enforcement profession and in 2013 received the Governor’s Public Safety Award.
Townsend has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland and a Masters of Public Administration from Columbus State University.