Canton Police Department Welcomes New Chief City Manager Billy Peppers has named Martin P. Ferrell as the next leader of Canton’s Police Department. The hire comes after former Chief Stephen Merrifield’s retirement last December. Mercer Group Associates conducted a national recruitment effort in December and early January to assist Peppers with narrowing the applicant pool to a selection of candidates for formal review. Mercer Group utilized stakeholder feedback from the department to assist in developing the recruitment brochure for the position.Chief Ferrell joins Canton Police following a career with the City of Marietta Police Department. Ferrell began his law enforcement career as an officer with Marietta Police in 1990, eventually serving in narcotics and as a departmental training officer. Rising through the department, he became a lieutenant in 1999, leading a variety of programs including criminal investigations, traffic enforcement, crime interdiction, Police Explorers, drug education, SWAT, and the City of Marietta’s school resource officer program.In 2005, Ferrell was promoted to major, leading outreach, uniform patrol, administrative services, and homeland security, among other duties. He served as deputy chief of the department from 2013 to 2022. During that time, he established a pastor’s academy for community outreach, introduced the department’s body warn camera technology, incorporated the agency’s crisis intervention team for officer support, and filled in in the absence of the chief. He attained the office of chief of police with Marietta PD in 2022, serving until he retired from that local government at the end of 2023.In addition to his work experience, Ferrell holds post-secondary degrees in criminal justice administration from Columbia Southern University. He is a graduate of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police Chief Executive Training Program, International Association of Chiefs of Police Leadership in Police Organizations, Senior Management Institute of Police, Police Executive Research Forum, Carl Vinson Institute of Government Management Program at the University of Georgia, FBI National Academy, Dale Carnegie Management Program, and the North Central Georgia Law Enforcement Academy. The Canton Police Department includes 61 employees, both sworn law enforcement personnel and civilian administrative staff. Canton Police Department is a State Certified Law Enforcement Agency.
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