The Athens Police Department has new interim police chief. County Manager Blaine Williams says Captain Mike Hunsinger will serve in the position until a new chief is selected.
“Scott Freeman is no longer the chief,” according to Williams. “I have named interim chief Captain Mike Hunsinger, he is a 30-year veteran. He has worked in different facets of the department. He’s an Athenian, he’s been to the FBI Academy, he’s been to Command College. I feel like he’s got a good command of the operations as well as the confidence of the officers.”
Williams says several issues lead to the resignation.
“You have to have a manager or a director that can run a 300-person operation with a multi-million-dollar budget. And while he was doing those well to some degree. There’s some external factors and some things under his control that are leading to as that leading to a great attribution.”
Freeman will receive severance pay of just over $9,100 a month for three months. He was appointed in June 2015 after Chief Jack Lumpkin retired. The county is conducting a national search to replace Freeman.
