ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp's office announced Wednesday that former Tift County Sheriff Gary Vowell, who was also once a trooper himself, will be the interim state public safety commissioner.
It comes in the wake of last week's resignation by Col. Mark W. McDonough, the previous public safety commissioner, over the Georgia State Patrol trooper cheating scandal.
GSP revealed last month it had effectively fired an entire Trooper School graduating class because they had coordinated cheating on their exams to be certified to operate a speed gun.
McDonough had called the revelations of cheating a "punch in the gut" that cut at the patrol's credibility in enforcing the speed limit, "one of the core functions of what the patrol has always done."
RELATED: Georgia Public Safety commissioner, deputy commissioner resign in wake of trooper cheating scandal
McDonough's deputy also turned in his resignation.
Vowell will assume his new role on March 1, Kemp's office said.
"Gary Vowell is a respected and trusted leader within Georgia's law enforcement community, and he is a strong public servant who is ready to take the helm at the Department of Public Safety," the governor said in a release. "Given his background, I know that Gary will be able to easily transition in this important role.”
Vowell said he was honored to be named to the post and that he was "devoted to keeping Georgia families safe and upholding the highest ideals of integrity in our law enforcement community."
Vowell joined GSP as a communications officer in 1976. He was with the agency for two decades, eventually becoming a certified Peace Officer Standards and Training instructor for alcohol and drug awareness programs.
He was elected Tift County sheriff in 1996 and held the post until 2012.
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