Dublin's first black police chief tries to lead by example

DUBLIN -- As people celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. in the heart of Laurens County, they also mark a milestone.

Dublin's first black police chief led Saturday's parade, humbled to be the groundbreaker who was sworn in just days ago.

"It's celebrated and rightfully so," Chief Tim Chatman said. "But at the end of the day, my skin color is not going to do this job. I've got to do the job."

The lure of a career in law enforcement first beckoned when Chatman was a boy growing up with his grandmother and mother, who was a single parent.

He was attracted by the white plastic hat and sash of the Dublin police cadets.

"I had to have that," said Chatman, who was wearing a dark, pinstriped suit to close out his first week at the helm of the department of about 60 officers and nearly a dozen civilian staffers.

Once a cadet, he was drawn in by the officers' behavior and mentality.

Chatman's father was never around. When other dads packed the sidelines of West Laurens High School football games, it bothered him.

He didn't really know his father until he was 32 years old, but being poor and fatherless was never justification for bad behavior.

He learned by his mother's example.

"She took away every excuse with seven boys and no food stamps, no welfare and certainly no child support," Chatman said.

His grandmother, who was the daughter of slaves, cared for the boys when Chatman's mother was working out of state. She gave him sage advice: "Son, you may not have a father and you may not have this or that, but you have a choice," she told him.

"That was a game-changer," Chatman said.

Although he initially chose to pursue a career in construction and studied brick masonry at the former Macon Technical College, he became an East Dublin police officer instead.

After two years, he joined Dublin's police force for eight years, where he got to know Debbie Stewart, the investigators' secretary, who is now a 39-year veteran of the department and Chatman's administrative assistant.

"We've come full circle," Stewart said of Chatman's promotion. "It's a blessing. He's a good man."

In 1992, at the urging of Stewart and others, Chatman joined the GBI, where he worked on the drug squad, as a SWAT officer, an investigator of crimes against children and, eventually, specializing as a polygraph examiner.

After 22 years, he thought he'd never leave.

Then Dublin city leaders came calling a couple of years ago with a newly created position of assistant police chief, with the understanding he would eventually take over when Chief Wayne Cain retired.

"That was a tough thing. I'm an agent till I die," Chatman said. "No man can talk me into leaving an agency that's very dear to me, like the GBI, but God got involved."

The 53-year-old also earned a degree in church administration along the way.

He serves as bishop of Mount Moriah Church in Montgomery County where his wife, Verlinda, leads worship and three of his four children play instruments.

His calm demeanor in the chief's office gives way to passionate preaching when he's in the pulpit.

"Titles don't mean jack to God," his voice boomed in a 2011 sermon on YouTube. "It's not about a title. It's about an assignment."

And he has a serious assignment in a community that saw five homicides last year.

"You can take every initiative you have and that will not stop anybody from killing or taking somebody's life," he said. "A policeman can't ride through your front room. There are incidents we can't control."

Since rejoining the force in 2014, Chatman had already implemented a "Take it Back! Reclaiming our Neighborhoods" campaign.

The chief, an avid motorcyclist, believes people need to be stakeholders in their neighborhoods and report crime to protect themselves and their property.

"We pump it. We push it. We're with you," said Chatman, whose department won best float in the Dublin St. Patrick's Day Parade with the slogan emblazoned on the front.

Wilkinson County Sheriff Robert Chatman, the chief's cousin, applauds the historic appointment.

"I think it's awesome for the city of Dublin and not just because he's my cousin," he said. "He walks with great integrity... and he loves the Lord. One man committed to God can do so much -- and do so much good."

During an Atlanta private screening of "The Bible" miniseries, the sheriff's cousin was called to lead prayer for the crew with series creators, "Touched By an Angel" star Roma Downey and her husband, Mark Burnett.

Standing between the couple, holding their hands, they forged a special bond.

"It was a very spiritual moment for that room that blew my socks off," he said. "They are sweet and so humble."

The famous couple later recorded a YouTube tribute, thanking Chatman for "his willingness to preach and teach about the Bible series."

"You have embodied the spirit in which we created this television Bible series," Burnett said on the video.

'KNOWN TO BE FAIR'

Friday morning, Robert Mobley visited the Dublin Police Department where Chatman's smiling portrait adorns the lobby.

Mobley, a retired Marine who spent 30 of his 50 years in Dublin, was a few years behind Chatman in school.

"People talk bad on policemen, but I never hear anything bad about (Chatman). He's been known to be fair," Mobley said. "Especially the way the world is going now, we need some inspiration. I hate to say it, but especially our group."

Mobley sees Chatman as being a role model for black youths.

"If you do what you're supposed to do, you get rewarded," Mobley said.

From Chatman's perspective, race relations are not a problem in Dublin.

"Everything is not just black and white, to me," he said. "I am a chief to all people, whether you're rich or poor."

Chatman harkens back to the advice from his grandmother, who died at age 103.

"No matter what you become, be the best one," she told him.

"She taught us how to be water walkers and stay away from people with a boat mentality that are too scared to try," he said. "I'd rather try and fail than never try."

Her father, his great-grandfather, was forced to fight in the Civil War, he sad.

Chatman inherited his gun and bayonet, but believes his best weapon in countering society's negative influences on young people is his own success story.

"I tell it everywhere I go. It doesn't matter where you come from," he said.

His mother, who died in July, worked her way up to hospital candy striper, then juggled work and school to became an accomplished nurse who trained others at local health facilities.

"My mother went against the odds and she proved them wrong," he said.

Chatman believes MLK's dream is becoming a reality, but the vision needs continual work.

"You've got to keep looking for better ways to be better, as a people, as a country, as a state. It doesn't matter what color you are. All of us have to look at better ways to be better together."

To contact writer Liz Fabian, call 744-4303 and follow her on Twitter @liz_lines.

This story was originally published January 17, 2016 at 7:54 PM with the headline "Dublin's first black police chief tries to lead by example ."