ATHENS, Ala. — The city of Athens officially has a new Police Chief. Chief Anthony Pressnell had been serving as interim since July, after the retirement of Chief Floyd Johnson. Just last week, he was named Chief at the Athens City Council meeting.
Chief Pressnell said this is his first week settling into his new office. "The transition has actually been really smooth," he said.
The new chief explained that he worked very closely with retired chief Floyd Johnson and is grateful that Johnson left the department in such great shape. "I worked so close with Chief Johnson, we had everything going in a good direction. It's just basically for me to keep it going in that direction. You know, I was told when I took the interim position, I can blame the other guy for six months. I looked and said, 'I can't blame the other guy because I was with him when he did it.'"
Another thing Chief Pressnell stands firm on is character. "Just treat people the way you want to be treated, treat them right, do the right thing and treat people right. We're here to serve the citizens of this city, and I want them to feel like they can call us or call me at any time for any reason if they have an issue. I want us out meeting our citizens. You know, roll your window down and talk to them. Don't keep your window up all day and just ride around you know, interact with our citizens. They might not remember the officer. They remember your car number, and if they need help, they're going to call and they going to ask for that car number even though they don't know the officer. "