PERRY, Ga. — A 91-year-old Georgia sheriff has said he will hand in his badge after more than 50 years as the county’s chief lawman.
Houston County Sheriff Cullen Talton tells WMAZ-TV that he won’t seek reelection in 2024 and will step down at the end of his term.
“It’s time for me to hang it up, so I won’t run again,” Talton said.
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Houston County commissioners called Talton the longest-serving sheriff not only in Georgia, but in the United States, when they honored him Tuesday.
Talton — a former dairy farmer who had served as county commissioner in the middle Georgia county — was elected sheriff in 1972. At the time, the county’s population was about 63,000 people. It now has nearly 170,000.
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The sheriff said he still likes his job. “I enjoy what I’m doing. I enjoy people,” he said.
Among those who attended the ceremony honoring Talton were two of his great-grandchildren, including 12-year-old Ellie Talton, who described the sheriff as “the peacekeeper of the family.”
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