Father David Epps, of Sharpsburg, recently stepped down as the chaplain of the Fulton County Public Safety Training Center, a regional police academy, after 14 years of service at that post. Epps, who graduated from the police academy in 1992 and became a certified law enforcement officer, was asked to assume the position of chaplain by then-academy director Major Anthony Korey. Following Korey’s retirement, Epps served under Director Donald Cook for seven more years. Under Cook’s administration, Fulton County Police Chief George M. Coleman conferred the rank of captain upon chaplain Epps.

Epps instituted a ribbon awards program for academy graduates which recognized students in the areas of leadership, firearms excellence, and academic achievement. Epps also taught law enforcement subjects occasionally, counseled, and delivered the invocation at nearly all of the academy’s graduation ceremonies during his tenure. Epps, who served without salary in the position, was given a plaque for his service during his last police academy graduation ceremony in Nov. 2006 by Cook.

Epps, who is married to Dr. Cynthia D. Epps, will continue to serve as the chief of chaplains for the Peachtree City Police Department where he has served since 1989.

A “master chaplain” with the International Conference of Police Chaplains and a member of the Georgia Association of Law Enforcement Chaplains, Epps formerly served as the chaplain for the Atlanta Division of the F.B.I., the Senoia Police Department, and is currently an on-call chaplain for the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department. He also serves as the founding pastor of Christ the King Church in Sharpsburg.

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