Brookhaven to get additional police officers through COPS funding

Sen. Jon Ossoff and Mayor John Ernst at a recent ATL Transit Link event.

Brookhaven, GA, Oct. 14, 2022 – The City of Brookhaven will soon receive an influx of additional police officers, thanks to a special US Department of Justice (DOJ) grant allocation.

On Oct. 13, the DOJ announced funding for Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) COPS Hiring Program (CHP). The awards provide funding to law enforcement agencies across the nation, allowing the hiring of additional full-time law enforcement professionals.

Brookhaven, one of only 4 cities in Georgia to receive funding through this grant, was awarded $750,000 towards the hiring of 6 police officers to assist with the initial three years of employment. 

“The catalyst for the funding for these additional officers was Brookhaven’s congressional delegation,” said Mayor John Ernst. “Brookhaven becomes an even safer place thanks to the advocacy of Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, and Representative Lucy McBath.”

"I was honored to support Brookhaven's application for funding that will allow the Police Department to continue being a leader in community policing in Georgia,” McBath said. “Through my visits with Chief Emeritus Yandura, Chief Gurley, and Lieutenant Ayana, it is clear to me that police departments from around the country are taking notice of the great work that is being done in Brookhaven. I am grateful that the Department of Justice also recognizes this success and has decided to grant this award which will support a community focus on crime prevention and public safety."

“The addition of six more officers gives us more feet on the street, which enhances our overall visibility and improves our ability to engage with the community and work on preventing crime before it happens,” said Police Chief Brandon Gurley.

The 2022 COPS Community Hiring Program is a competitive grant program designed to provide funding directly to law enforcement agencies to hire and/or rehire additional career law enforcement officers in an effort to increase their community policing capacity and crime prevention efforts. Anticipated outcomes of the CHP program awards include engagement in planned community partnerships, implementation of projects to analyze and assess problems, implementation of changes to personnel and agency management in support of community policing, and increased capacity of agency to engage in community policing activities.

To learn more about CHP, visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/chp-award. For additional information about the COPS Office, visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/.