DeKalb County sheriff to announce retirement Thursday

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Channel 2 Action News has learned that DeKalb County's sheriff will announce Thursday morning that he is retiring from the force.

Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne learned that Sheriff Jeff Mann announced to his command staff Wednesday that he's retiring effective at the end of the month and Chief Deputy Melody Maddox will become acting sheriff.

Mann was arrested in May 2017 after he was stopped in Piedmont Park in Atlanta for allegedly exposing himself. He was charged with misdemeanor obstruction and public indecency charges.

A couple of weeks later, Mann suspended himself over the incident.

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"I cannot ask my employees to abide by a code of conduct unless I am willing to subject myself to it as well," Mann wrote in an email sent to employees at the time.

In a memo obtained by Channel 2 Action News, Mann said his apology "should not be construed to suggest or imply guilt."

Mann ultimately ended up pleading guilty to the charges and was banned from Atlanta City Parks for a year. He also was sentenced to community service.

POST, the state's law enforcement training and accreditation arm, opened its own investigation and voted to revoke Mann's law enforcement certification in September 2017.

"This error that I've acknowledged, apologized for and I'm ready to move on," Mann told Channel 2 investigative reporter Nicole Carr in an April 2018 interview.

Mann confirmed to Carr that his appeal to keep his law enforcement certification had been denied by POST.

Stay with WSBTV.com and tune into Channel 2 Action News RIGHT NOW for the latest on this developing story. 

Cox Media Group