Dalton Fire Department Names Mike Russell Next Deputy Chief

The Dalton Fire Department’s second in command will retire at the end of May, and a successor was named and confirmed at Tuesday morning’s meeting of the Dalton Public Safety Commission. Mike Russell will be promoted to the rank of deputy chief when Ricky Busby steps down.

Mr. Russell currently serves as the one of the department’s battalion chiefs, serving in that role since December 2009. He joined the Dalton Fire Department in September 1992, but his firefighting career began in 1984 when he began as a volunteer with the Whitfield County Fire Department.

Fire Chief Todd Pangle noted Tuesday morning that Mr.

Russell emerged as the best fit to serve as the agency’s deputy chief after an interview process and fulfilling all of the prerequisites for the position. His promotion was confirmed by a unanimous 3-0 vote of the commission (members Keith Whitworth and Kenneth Willis were not in attendance).

Officer Richard Cook was honored with the Dalton Police Department’s Award of Merit at Tuesday morning’s meeting. Officer Cook was recognized for his actions during a traffic stop on New Year’s Day.

While serving as backup for an officer conducting a traffic stop on Jan. 1, Officer Cook noticed that a passenger in the vehicle was trying to conceal a handgun by his feet unbeknownst to the primary officer. Officer Cook was able to take action to disarm this passenger without any injury to any party involved.

Also at Tuesday morning’s meeting, Chief Cason presented three DPD officers to the commission for promotion. Earning promotion were Captain Shaun Scott, Lieutenant Jason Thompson, and Sergeant Chris McDonald.

Captain Scott has served the Dalton Police Department since June 2000, steadily rising through the ranks from patrol officer to captain. He earned his promotion to lieutenant in 2015 and served as a shift lieutenant and district commander before taking over as the patrol division’s operations supervisor in November 2018. During his time with the police department, Captain Scott earned 20 letters of commendation as well as being hnored as the Officer of the Month in June 2007 and winning the department’s Innovation In Police Service Award in December 2016. He is a graduate of Dalton State College and is pursuing a master’s degree at Columbus State University in Columbus, Ga. Captain Scott will now move into the support services division and coordinate planning and research as well as accreditation.

Lt. Thompson first joined the Dalton Police Department in August 2002 and served for a year before joining the US Marshals Service. He returned to the DPD in August 2004 and served as a patrol officer until becoming a detective with the drug unit in 2010. He was promoted to the rank of sergeant in July 2015 and has served as a supervisor in the patrol division since then. He twice was honored as the Officer of the Month in December 2009 and July 2013 and was named Officer of the Year in 2013. He also has received 14 letters of commendation during his career. He is a graduate of Jacksonville State University. Lt. Thompson will now serve as a shift lieutenant in patrol.

Sergeant McDonald joined the Dalton Police Department in 1997. He has served in a variety of different capacities, including as the agency’s recruiting officer and public information officer, riding with the department’s bike unit, and most recently serving the past three years as the department’s training coordinator. Sergeant McDonald has earned 14 letters of commendation during his career with the DPD and also received the Dalton Rotary Club’s Vocational Service Award. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia.

All three officers’ promotions were confirmed by a unanimous 3-0 vote of the Public Safety Commission.

The Dalton Public Safety Commission is comprised of Chairman William B. Weaver, Terry Mathis, Anthony Walker, Keith Whitworth, and Kenneth E. Willis.