Assistant Chief Austin M. Godfrey began his career in law enforcement in 1998 with the Gwinnett County Police Department. He has served as a Task Force Officer with the FBI’s Crimes Against Children Human Trafficking Task Force, a member of the GBI’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and a member of the Georgia Gang Investigators Association. Assistant Chief Godfrey has spent most of his career assigned to specialized units. These units have included Special Victims, Narcotics, Crime Suppression, and VICE and Alcohol. Additionally, he was a member of SWAT for over 18 years, where he served as the Sniper Team Leader.

 

Assistant Chief Godfrey joined the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office in January 2021 and accepted his appointment as Major of the Special Investigations Section. In this role, he helped establish and build the Trafficking and Child Exploitation (TRACE) and Gang Units. Under his leadership, the Special Investigations Section expanded to include the Fugitive, Jail Intelligence, and Crime & Intelligence Analyst Units, along with the Gwinnett Metro Task Force.

 

Over the course of his career, Assistant Chief Godfrey has received over 6,000 hours of basic and specialized training from the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council (POST). His certifications include Management, Supervision, Advanced, Intermediate, General Instructor, Firearms Instructor, Defensive Tactics Instructor, Sniper Instructor, Field Training Officer, and SWAT Command. Assistant Chief Godfrey is a native of Gwinnett County and graduated from South Gwinnett High School. He is also a proud veteran of the United States Marine Corps.