At 91, Georgia’s longest serving sheriff says he's retiring

HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. - A 91-year-old Georgia sheriff has said he will hand in his badge after more than 50 years as the county’s chief lawman.

Houston County Sheriff Cullen Talton tells WMAZ-TV that he won’t seek reelection in 2024 and will step down at the end of his term.

"It’s time for me to hang it up, so I won’t run again," Talton said.

Houston County commissioners called Talton the longest-serving sheriff not only in Georgia, but in the United States, when they honored him Tuesday.

Talton — a former dairy farmer who had served as county commissioner in the middle Georgia county — was elected sheriff in 1972. At the time, the county’s population was about 63,000 people. It now has nearly 170,000.

In 2019, he was named Georgia's Sheriff of the Year.

The sheriff said he still likes his job. "I enjoy what I’m doing. I enjoy people," he said.

Among those who attended the ceremony honoring Talton were two of his great-grandchildren, including 12-year-old Ellie Talton, who described the sheriff as "the peacekeeper of the family."