ATLANTA (AP) — The director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is stepping down after less than a year in office.
GBI Director Mike Register said he accepted an offer to serve as director of public safety for Cobb County in the greater Atlanta area. District commissioners have scheduled a vote for Tuesday to officially hire him.
Governor Brian Kemp appointed Register, a former police chief, to head the GBI and its nearly 1,000 staff last August. The agency assists local law enforcement agencies in solving homicides and other serious crimes. His agents investigate almost all police shootings. The GBI also performs autopsies and runs the state crime lab.
“It has been an honor to be the director of the GBI and to serve one of Georgia’s greatest governors, Brian Kemp,” Register said in a statement on Thursday. “I’m leaving a great law enforcement agency with some of the most dedicated and knowledgeable professionals I’ve ever worked with.”
Kemp’s office said Register would remain GBI director until July. There was no immediate announcement as to who would replace him.
“The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and its future success will continue to be my administration’s top priority as we work to keep Georgia families safe and support our local law enforcement partners across the state,” Kemp said in a statement.
As Cobb County Public Service director, Register would oversee 1,800 employees who work in police, fire, 911 and emergency management in the county of more than 760,000 people.
Register previously held the same job in 2019, but resigned after just four months on the grounds that he had to leave the state for personal reasons. He was also chief of police for Cobb and Clayton counties. Before joining the GBI, he was the deputy chief of the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office.
