Gwinnett County’s Chief of Police announces retirement

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Twenty years after joining the Gwinnett County police department as police officer and rising to the job of Chief, Brett West announced his retirement from the department Friday afternoon.

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West, who started as a patrol officer, rose to the rank of deputy chief before accepting the department’s top position just over a year ago, in July 2020.

He spent that year overseeing Georgia’s second largest police agency with 905 sworn officers and 289 civilian employees.

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The department covers a population of over 800,000 residents and 437 square miles. Gwinnett police headquarters is located in Lawrenceville and has six precincts spread across the county.

Deputy Chief J.D. McClure will succeed West. McClure began his career as a police officer with Gwinnett in 1996 and will assume his new role on Aug. 21.

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