DEMOREST, Ga. — The City of Demorest has a new interim police chief after the previous police chief and several other members of the department resigned. The department is now down to three members of the police force.
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“It’s a very small community. So, you get to know them on a personal level, and you see them walking their dogs,” said Casey Chastain, former Demorest police chief, who says his time with the Demorest Police Department has come to an end. He’s been there for 12 years and served as the chief since 2024.
But he said back in January, there was an investigation into inappropriate touching.
“After the allegation, which I asked for an investigation to clear my name and it did clear my name, but ever since then, it was like, because I got an attorney involved, it was, like retaliation to me,” said Chastain.
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Since then, the department, which consists of nine law enforcement officers when fully staffed, has seen a slew of resignations. The resignation letter from a sergeant cites a “witch hunt” and “micromanagement.”
Chastain submitted his resignation saying he was “insulted, lied to lied about and harassed,” by the city manager.
“So, we have, once every resignation is turned in, if they all go through it, it will have one officer on the road and a school resource officer,” said Chastain.
Chastain, who is set to be on the job for another week, said Monday the city manager brought in an interim chief, Brad Rounds.
“He’s a great guy. He’ll be professional. He’s here today. I’m showing him as much as I can show him,” Chastain said.
As for the future of the department, Chastain said the community needs to pay attention.
“I think you should always be alarmed when a group of people leave, a mass exit like that. There’s something obviously not going on right,” said Chastain. “They need to get in to their local government. They need to know what is happening. They need go to the council meetings and find out what’s really going on with their city.”
Channel 2 Action News reached out to the city manager by email and by phone and did not hear back.
Chastain said he’s been in contact with the Habersham County Sheriff’s office who will help cover the city.
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