Douglasville Police Chief Earns 'Citizen Of The Year'

DOUGLASVILLE, GA – The culmination of the recent Douglas County Chamber of Commerce annual Winter Ball was highlighted by the presentation of their “Citizen of the Year” award to Douglasville Police Chief Gary Sparks.

A shocked Sparks accepted the award and reiterated the philosophy that helped him earn the award. “Who put this thing together?” he joked. He went on to say, “It’s all about community, and we have a great community here. After I graduated from Fort Valley, I always said I wanted to come back and do something positive for the community.”

Sparks has done just that. Following his motto of being “one with our community,” he said he has worked tirelessly to reduce crime by establishing neighborhood watch programs and sharing information about crime trends in the community, by visiting neighborhoods throughout Douglasville, and speaking personally with residents.

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“Chief Sparks’ efforts have not only led to an elevated sense of civility, kindness, and inclusion between police officers and citizens of Douglasville,” Mayor Rochelle Robinson said. “But he has impacted the lives of at-risk youth in the Douglasville community as well.”

The impact on youth that Robinson alluded to, was in reference to Sparks’ widely successful Youth Against Violence program that he created over 11 years ago.

Sparks pointed to his family, who was in attendance for this award.

“My mom always told me, ‘just do what’s right’ – treat everyone right no matter what color they are, no matter what you are going through, just treat everybody right.”

In his 32nd year with the City of Douglasville, Sparks said he looks to continue leading the police department in their community outreach efforts and providing the highest quality protection and service to City residents and visitors.

Photos courtesy City of Douglasville