According to a public information release from Officer Chuck McPhilamy of the Marietta Police Department, Marietta Police Chief Dan Flynn will retire at the end of this month, after 15 years with the department.

Dan Flynn was appointed Chief of the Marietta Police Department (MPD) on January 15, 2007. 

His career in law enforcement began in 1973 with the Miami-Dade Police Department, where he worked 27 years, and where he rose to the rank of Major assigned to Special Patrol Bureau Commander before retiring.

After retiring from the Miami-Dade Police Department, Flynn ran a consulting business, then took the position of Chief of Police in Savannah, and later the combined Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department.

Chief Flynn has been an active member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police (GACP), and Rotary International. 

According to the public information release, “He was inducted into the International Evidence-Based Policing Hall of Fame and in 2010 and was selected as the GACP Chief of the Year twice (2010-2011 and 2017-2018), an honor only held by one other person.”

The public information release continues:

When asked what he is most proud of during his time here in Marietta, he focused on the cohesive way the entire department has worked together to advance public safety during such a changing environment.  He cited the creation of numerous programs that both sought to reduce crime as well as unify the residents and business owners with their local law enforcement.  While too many to name, a few of the programs established during his tenure include the Public Safety Ambassadors (PSA), Pastors Police Academy, Pastors Forum, Canine, Cyber Specialist Unit, Gang Investigation and Jiu Jitsu Training.

Flynn’s biography on the EBP Hall of Fame page gives the following further information:

Chief Flynn holds a bachelors degree in Public Administration from St. Thomas University, Florida and a masters degree in Public Administration from Florida International University. He also holds two graduate certificates, one in Executive Leadership from the University of Miami and the second in Personnel Management and Labor Relations from Florida International University. In addition, Chief Flynn is a graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy.

Chief Flynn’s professional memberships include Police Executive Research Forum, International Association of Chiefs of Police, FBI National Academy Associations, Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, and Rotary International.

With his induction into the EPB Hall of Fame, Professor Geoffrey Alpert, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of South Carolina gave the following testimonial:

Chief Dan Flynn is a consumer and producer of evidence-based policing. In the late 1980s, before the concept was well known or used openly in policing, then Major Flynn was asking researchers to evaluate his programs and projects so he could tweak them, replicate them or end them depending on the evidence. Dan always pushed the researchers to investigate complex situations but provided guidance, and insight into police work and access to the officers and necessary data. Beyond his interest in improving policing through evidence, he has been helpful in securing funding for his projects and making sure the whole organization would buy into the research.

Marietta City Manager Bill Bruton has named MPD Deputy Chief Marty Ferrell as the interim Chief of Police upon Flynn’s retirement date.