Smyrna Hires Returning Police Officer As New Chief

SMYRNA, GA — Smyrna City Council members voted Monday to hire Keith Zgonc, former deputy chief of police at the Sandy Springs Police Department, as the city's new police chief.

For Zgonc, this is a homecoming. He started his career at the Smyrna Police Department in 1991. He left in 2006 as captain to help establish the police department in Sandy Springs, which was Georgia's newest city at that time.

Now, he'll return as the city's new top cop. He fills the shoes of former chief Joe Bennett, who was sworn in as city administrator in February after serving as interim city administrator since September 2020.

• Related: Former Smyrna Police Chief Sworn In As City Administrator

Zgonc is a graduate of the University of Georgia and the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy, the Marietta Daily Journal reported. He lives in unincorporated Cobb County.

When Bennett asked Zgonc why he wanted to work in Smyrna, his answer stood out, according to the MDJ. "I want to come home," he said as then-deputy chief for Sandy Springs police.

Read more on the MDJ's website here.