Wayne Dennard has not spent his entire career as a police officer.
He didn’t sign up for the academy until 2003, when he was already 41 years old, in what he described as “almost a midlife crisis.”
The catalyst for that decision was a deadly fire at a mobile home park in March 2000. The MDJ reported at the time that an electrical short in a clothes dryer sparked the blaze, which killed eight people.
“I went to the scene that day just as a community leader … trying to see if there was an opportunity for our church, or me personally, to do some kind of outreach for the family,” Dennard said. “And noticed the Acworth police and their lack of engagement, if you would, in the community at that moment.
“… I think God placed it on my heart to engage and try to do something that could better not just this community, but to better the Acworth Police Department.”
Last Sunday, April 16, marked 20 years and two days since Dennard joined the Acworth police department, and his last day on the job.
Dennard, 61, served as police chief for a decade, from 2012 until last December, when he was succeeded by Jesse Evans.
“This leadership and this agency is doing the best they can every day to do the right thing,” Dennard said. “And I’m so thankful for that and proud of that. … I truly love this community. I truly love the people that we work with. I truly love the people who live here. And I just wish them all the best, and that I’m still around, I’ll be around.”
‘Love on the community’
Dennard was born in Jacksonville, Florida, but raised in Cobb, where he’s been a resident for more than 50 years. He attended Sprayberry High School and has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Thomas University.
Prior to becoming a police officer, he worked in the private security business.
At the fire, Dennard said there were things…
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