Why DeKalb County Police Chief Mirtha Ramos is stepping down | In her own words

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Outgoing DeKalb County Police Chief Mirtha Ramos says she was "completely surprised" when, on behalf of DeKalb County CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, COO Zach Williams informed her that the county wanted to move in another direction. 

Ramos spoke with FOX 5’s Courtney Bryant the day after the news broke about her departure.

SEE ALSO: DeKalb County chief of police on administrative leave, according to county CEO

Police Chief Mirtha Ramos leaving

The backstory:

Questions began to swirl almost immediately as seemingly contradictory reports emerged that Ramos was both placed on administrative leave and had stepped down. During a press conference on Thursday afternoon, CEO Cochran-Johnson confirmed that the police chief is on administrative leave and declined to comment further on the matter. She stated that Assistant Chief Gregory Padrick would act as interim chief.

Ramos, the first female and longest-serving DeKalb County police chief in more than 20 years, has spent the last five years as the county’s top cop. She was hired in 2019 by then-DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond after serving 22 years with the Miami-Dade Police Department. According to a press release sent to FOX 5 Atlanta, DeKalb County reportedly saw significant reductions in crime under Ramos' leadership. The press release claims that property and violent crimes have dropped 13% overall, while homicides decreased by 85% in January 2023 and currently stand at a 77.3% reduction year-to-date.

The meeting that led to resignation: Ramos' POV

What they're saying:

The outgoing chief clarified the conflicting reports during Friday’s interview, confirming both are true.

"Well, on Wednesday, I was summoned to the COO's office. And at that time, [COO Zach Williams] advised me that CEO Lorraine Cochran-Johnson was moving in a different direction, and that I was to step away from my responsibilities as police chief, effective immediately. I was advised that I have 21 days to either resign, or immediately be fired," Ramos said.

"So, I was asked to step away from my responsibilities. So, that is indeed factual. And so, I'm considered to be on administrative leave until the 21 days expire. At that time, depending on my decision of resigning or not resigning, they will take the necessary steps to fire me, and that would be effective immediately upon the expiration of the 21 days," she continued.

She said the meeting only lasted for five minutes, but it took a while for it all to sink in.

"So, I was in and out, and I went and sat in my car and just contemplated what happened, because it happened fast," she said.

Ramos admitted that she did not have any indication heading into the meeting that she would be asked to resign.

"Well, I knew that she obviously has the right to choose whoever she wants to be her police chief. I don't think at that time that I would be removed, considering all of the improvements that we've been through over the last few years. We started out 2023 with a bang. Our numbers are looking good. We have not had any scandals. We didn't have any challenges. So, I guess maybe I was naive enough to believe that doing really good work was enough. But apparently, I was chosen to be dismissed," she admitted.

Ramos on police recruitment

Dig deeper:

During Thursday’s press conference, CEO Cochran-Johnson spoke about the county's efforts to recruit more police officers, including compensation for new officers. She said that the county is excited to move forward with new recruiting and retention initiatives.

Ramos says that there have been challenges in maintaining the force, just as every law enforcement agency has been experiencing since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Ramos says that historically, they have not seen double-digit drops in the numbers.

"If you Google staffing shortages, there will be no shortage of links that will lead you to many departments that are experiencing the same thing right now. COVID-19 really just brought out a different side of law enforcement. Even all the protests, things that happened with the protests, officers being arrested, officers dying. I really think it just changed the tone for some people who don't want to do this anymore."

Ramos added that she hopes a salary bump will help attract new officers.

"Sometimes, it's not about money. But honestly, I'm super ecstatic about all of the incentives that she's proposing. I've been advocating for a lot of those same incentives for several months now," she offered. "So, I'm ecstatic that it is actually happening. I'm sad that I won't be able to see the benefits of it, but I'm ecstatic. The officers deserve this and more."

What's next for Chief Mirtha Ramos?

What's next:

She said one of her biggest regrets over the whole thing is that she will not get a proper sendoff.

"I did not get to say goodbye to the officers. I didn't get to say goodbye to the community. I didn't get to say goodbye to the people that I work with every day," she admitted.

However, looking back on the last five years, she is filled with pride.

"I'm very proud of those five years because I think we've done a lot in the last five years. Even though we faced so many challenges, we still overcame them," she said.

"Well, I just want to say that I was grateful for this opportunity. I sincerely thank CEO Michael Thurmond for taking a chance on someone when he had no idea who I was. He gave me this job on merit and thought that I was the right person. And I think that at that time, I definitely was the right person to steer the ship in a different direction. And I think we're going in a great direction. And if we just stay on that course, I think we'll be able to see and reap some of the benefits of the hard work that we've put in these last few years," she added.

As for what is next for Ramos, she said, "Yeah, unemployed for the first time in my adult life. So, it's quite interesting. You know, I plan to take some time away, some downtime, just to really kind of process it," she said. "For five years, I really had not had any free time. Working 60 hours a week, phone ringing off the hook at all hours of the night. So, I'm just going to take a few days to process things, figure out what I want to do, if anything."

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