MACON, Ga. — Macon-Bibb County Sheriff David Davis has won another term in office after fighting off a challenge from retired GBI special agent JT Ricketson.
With a vote total of 45,037 to Ricketson’s 24,284, Davis won 63.57% of the vote.
It will be his third term as sheriff after he was first elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2016.
“We are sort of at a cusp of some great things going forward, so I’m glad the voters decided to keep the stable leadership at the sheriff’s office so we can take part of all the changes that will be coming," said Davis.
Davis is a lifelong resident of Bibb County and started at the sheriff’s office in 1979 after graduating from Central High, Macon State College, Georgia State University and the University of Virginia.
For the last few weeks, he’s highlighted various ways he would lead the sheriff’s office in key areas of interest to Bibb voters in 2020.
PAY/STAFFING
Sheriff David Davis has pleaded with commissioners for years to raise pay for deputies and help the sheriff's office compete with surrounding agencies. A recently completed pay scale study takes a step towards that.
He said if the recommended pay is implemented that it would make the Bibb Sheriff’s Office a higher-paying agency than others in Central Georgia.
He noted that if the pay increases; his office would be able to recruit more deputies and begin to close up the 150-160-person shortage.
After winning re-election, he said, "Once we get it implemented the first of next year, [we'll] certainly use that as a recruiting tool, as well as our signing bonus that we have now, and hopefully, that will make us to be somewhat appealing for already experienced law enforcement agencies close by here that are not starting off as much as what we hope to be starting off at."
USE OF FORCE
Davis said law enforcement is changing nationwide in response to high-profile use-of-force cases, like the Breonna Taylor and George Floyd cases.
He said that as a career-long officer; it was troubling to him that officers would act outside of policy.
He said the sheriff’s office has a strong use-of-force policy in place and that they do not tolerate improper force. He pointed to his recent firing of a deputy for shooting at a moving car and said there would be some added training due to recent national stories.
VIOLENT CRIME
Violent crime was one of the most important issues in the sheriff’s race as homicides climbed this year in Bibb County.
Both Davis and Ricketson tabbed it as their top priority, but Davis took a different approach.
He pointed to the recent Operation Bold Heart, which resulted in 229 arrests. He said efforts like that will lead to a safer Macon-Bibb, as well as new strategies like setting up cameras in areas with higher crime and Shot Spotter -- a system that detects the location of gunfire.
Davis also said community outreach was an important part of reducing violent crime.
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