Top Memphis cop votes in Georgia: Residency questions arise
ATLANTA - Some people are asking why Shawn Jones, the assistant chief of police for Memphis, Tennessee, still lists Georgia as his primary residence.
Additionally, voting records indicate Jones has voted in Fulton County three times since being hired in Tennessee.
According to ABC24, Jones voted in person in Fulton County in March 2024 and again in May 2024. He also voted in Georgia in 2022.
The television station spoke to residents who felt that the second-highest-ranking police official for Memphis should want to vote in the city on behalf of the people he represents.
These sentiments were echoed by many online after the news began making the rounds on social media.
Shawn Jones retired from the Atlanta Police Department in 2016. He was hired by the Memphis Police Department in 2021. Jones reportedly followed interim Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn (C.J.) Davis, who also worked for Atlanta PD for several years, to Memphis.
Jones joined the Atlanta Police Department in 1986. In 1993, he was promoted to sergeant, and in 1997, he was promoted to lieutenant.
During his time with APD, he was assigned to the Atlanta Police Academy, Field Operations Division, the Accreditation Unit, Personnel Services, and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport's police precinct.
In January 2010, he was appointed deputy chief, and in 2015, he was appointed assistant police chief. He then retired.
In 2017, he joined the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, and on Sept. 13, 2021, he was hired by the Memphis Police Department.
According to Memphis PD, it is not against the law for a first responder in Tennessee to live in another state.
However, that law was not passed until March 2022. Before that, Memphis police officers were required to live within two hours of Memphis city limits.
Gov. Bill Lee signed the new law eliminating residency requirements in March 2022 to make it easier for the police and fire departments to hire more people.
Georgia Secretary of State officials told ABC24 in Memphis that if Jones still has a residence in Fulton County, he is allowed to vote in Georgia.