Three of Coweta County’s top law enforcement officers were guests of honor at our August 30, 2016 NuLink Early Bird Forum. The Newnan Centre was packed with Chamber members and guests eager to hear from Newnan Police Chief Douglas “Buster” Meadows, Coweta County Sheriff Mike Yeager and Sergeant First Class Mike Adcock, who heads the Georgia State Patrol’s Newnan Post. The welcome was given by NuLink’s Lana Mobley, who also announced that NuLink has recently been acquired by WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone.

Coweta County Sheriff Mike Yeager, who was first elected sheriff in 1993, praised local citizens and officials for their longstanding support of law enforcement, saying,“We know the majority of those in the community support us, and we appreciate it.”

Yeager said that as more and more law enforcement actions are captured on camera, it is becoming harder to convict criminal suspects without photographic evidence. He said a person’s sworn testimony “used to be enough” but that jurors accustomed to seeing events televised or streamed on the Internet almost expect to see visual evidence of encounters involving law enforcement. Each Coweta County deputy is equipped with a body cam, and Yeager said the Coweta County’s Sheriff’s Office was first in the state to equip all officers with body cameras.

Newnan Police Chief Douglas “Buster” Meadows has been with the Newnan Police Department for 44 years, becoming chief in 2002. Like Yeager, he thanked local citizens for their support and said when he tells other police chiefs how well his officers are treated and respected, they say, “We don’t have that.”

Meadows talked about the importance of connecting with the community. He said the Newnan PD offers a Law Enforcement Explorers program that helps familiarize local youth with the people and functions of the Newnan PD and allows them to participate in programs supervised and taught by its officers.

The Newnan PD has also partnered with “Guitars Not Guns,” a national nonprofit music program that provides guitars and lessons to foster kids, at-risk youth and other deserving children in a classroom setting with qualified teachers. Newnan’s own Doug Kees, an acclaimed musician, music teacher and guitarist, supervises the instruction.

SFC Mike Adcock of the Georgia State Patrol has been a law enforcement officer since 1988 and has been at the Georgia State Patrol’s Newnan Post since July 2007. Adcock said he currently has only 11 troopers at the Newnan Post but should have 15. The Newnan Post is responsible for Coweta, Fayette and Heard Counties.

Adcock said reducing traffic fatalities is a top priority of the GSP. He noted that the GSP has a statewide goal of keeping traffic fatalities below 1,000 for the year and is on target to reach that goal in 2016.

Yeager, Meadows and Adcock agreed that it is increasingly difficult to find qualified applicants to serve as law enforcement officers.

Also at the breakfast, Newnan’s Norma Haynes was on hand and was recognized and thanked for her lifelong support of local law enforcement.