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The first Black woman Chief of Police in Dekalb County (which houses the Atlanta, Sandy Springs, & Roswell, GA areas.) was told that she had 21 days to resign or be terminated from her position. Dekalb County is Georgia’s fourth largest county and Ramos has held the Chief of Police position since 2019. “I want people to know that I didn’t just step down voluntarily. I would not have just left without saying goodbye to our community and our officers,” she told WSB-TV in Atlanta. Ramos was placed on administrative leave and was adamant about not doing anything wrong, she said if there had been any mistakes made, they were unintentional.
In 2022, it was reported that over 400,000 Black people lived in Dekalb County, the largest racial group in the county. Under Ramos’ leadership the crime rate has significantly dropped, in 2024 homicide rates dropped 77%. The county has a police staffing issue, and they are short around 300 officers, the issue was before Ramos’ arrival, but it was no longer an issue when she became Chief of Police in 2019. The CEO of Dekalb County Lorraine Cochran-Johnson declined to comment on Ramos’ leadership, but Ramos’ said she is most proud of her ability to strengthen community engagement over time and a recommendation she had given former CEO Michael Thurmond on triple overtime, which kept enough officers on duty despite staffing shortages.
Not only was Ramos’ the first Black woman to serve as Chief of Police in Dekalb County, but she was also the first woman and longest serving police chief the department had seen in over 20 years. Ramos’ was hired by former CEO Michael Thurmond, but before working in Dekalb County she served 22 years in the Miami-Dade County police department for 22 years. “I have faith that I will be directed to where I need to go. I have faith that I have done everything that I could for this department,” Ramos said. “I lived and breathed for this department for five years.”
CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson says the county has new hiring incentives to attract and retain officers, boosting pay to $64,000, housing allowance if they live inside the county, full medical coverage and a host of other incentives. Cochran-Johnson told WSB-TV that she was confident that in Ramos’ absence officers would not be affected. “I have great confidence that they will continue to do their job that they will continue to show up.” In the meantime, Assistant Chief of Police Greg Padrick will take the interim police chief position. It was confirmed that Ramos stepped down from her position but has not yet resigned and is on paid administrative leave.
