Justin Gammage on Friday (Sept. 14) became Charleston’s fourth police chief in less than two years, but he hopes to stick around for a long time.
With family members, friends and local officials looking on, the 40-year-old Gammage was sworn in as the city’s top cop and deputy municipal court clerk.
Municipal Judge Tara Lang administered the oath during a brief ceremony that was held shortly after 5 p.m. in the courtroom at Charleston City Hall. Gammage’s youngest son, Kristian, 16, sporting a Charleston High School football jersey less than two hours before the quarterback would lead his team onto the field against archrival West Tallahatchie, held the Bible on which his dad placed his hand.
The elder Gammage said he takes the oath, and his new job title, very seriously.
“I thank the board and the mayor for giving me this opportunity. It’s an opportunity that I hold in high regard,” he noted Monday. “Being the chief of any town is an honor, and I want to do the best job that I can do here.”
Gammage, a native of Forest in Scott County, was formally named full-time police chief at the Sept. 4 regular meeting of the Charleston Board of Commissioners.
Gammage had been a member of the city’s police force since October 2017, when he started working part-time under then new Charleston Police Chief Donnie “Donnell” Tenner, whom he followed over from the Grenada Police Department.
Gammage, a 2001 graduate of the Mississippi Delta Law Enforcement Training Academy, worked as a policeman in Grenada for 18 years, serving on a drug task force there for four years and climbing the ladder to hold the supervisory ranks of sergeant, lieutenant and, finally, captain.
After 20 years of service in the Mississippi National Guard, which included two overseas deployments during conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Gammage retired from the Guard in 2016 with the rank of staff sergeant.
While still working full-time with Grenada police, Gammage ventured over to Charleston in late 2017 to begin part-time duty because, he explained, “I needed something to do with my time.”
Tenner left a few months ago to return to Grenada, where the Charleston native now works as that city’s code enforcement officer.
Charleston Captain Wendy Jones led the department for a while, but Gammage said in July the city board offered him the interim chief’s position on a 90-day probationary basis.
This month, the board voted to cut the probation period short and install Gammage as full-fledged chief.
“The board decided I was doing a good job,” he noted.
Mayor Sedrick Smith offered even greater praise, saying Monday that Gammage has done “a magnificent job.”
“I think he’s going to be a plus for our city,” Smith added. “Significant changes have already come about through his leadership.”
In Charleston, Gammage leads a department of 10 full-time and five part-time officers — its largest force in years.
“It is more than we have had, but we needed to change some things,” the chief explained. “Having just one patrolman on at a time with the way things are going in the world right now, that’s not safe for the officers. We had to move to having more personnel on the street. And with the influx of crime, we need to have more visible officers.”
Gammage wants to address unsolved crimes, “and if there can be justice dealt out, I would like it to be done.”
He hopes to secure more education for his officers and update department equipment.
The new chief was asked about specific target areas.
“Some points of emphasis are enforcing some of the minor traffic laws, including seat belts and child restraints. Those are things that we are working on,” Gammage said. “We want to let the people know that it’s not a punishment. You have to wear these things. It’s part of state law.”
Also, he noted, “We want to get control of some of the drinking and driving here, and a major emphasis now is drugs. Street drugs are always a problem, along with the abuse of narcotics. We’re going to work with different entities to make sure that we get control of it here in town.”
The chief said community relations will be a priority.
“I want the police to have a good relationship with the people here in Charleston,” Gammage noted. “The police department will be a place where we all work together to solve crime and to make this place a wonderful town. ... My door is always open to people if they have a problem. I will do all I can to help with any problem that I can control.”
Gammage’s wife, Jamie Rimmer Gammage, teaches English and is cheerleader coach at Charleston High School.
In addition to Kristian, they have an older son, Justin Jr., 19, who plays football at Coahoma Community College; a daughter, Kaitlin, 17, who is a senior at Grenada High School; and a younger daughter, Gabrielle, 10.
The chief said he and his family live in Grenada now but plan to move to Charleston once Kaitlin graduates.
Since John Page retired at the end of 2016 after nearly 15 years as Charleston police chief, three people — Luther Folson Jr., Tenner and, now, Gammage — have held the post.
However, that does not seem to rattle the newcomer.
“Yeah, I’m the third one,” Gammage began, “but I’m going to do all I can to retire at this job. My goal is to retire as the chief here.”
IN THE PHOTO: As his son Kristian Gammage (left) holds the Bible, new Charleston Police Chief Justin Gammage recites the oath of office administered by Municipal Judge Tara Lang Friday afternoon at City Hall. (Photo by Clay McFerrin)
