TheGeorgiaVirtue.com was contacted about the POST records of a number of employees within the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office. In the interest of transparency, the POST record of the Sheriff was obtained first.
The Sheriff of Chatham County touts a lengthy history in law enforcement with high-ranking titles, but a review of his records from the Georgia Peace Officer Trainings & Standards (POST) Council reveals a lack of tenure, inconsistent education claims, long periods without any training or employment, state sanctions, and a GBI investigation.
On the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office website, Coleman touts himself as “a proud 30-year Georgia-certified peace officer” but state records do not support that claim. The county website also says Coleman is equipped with a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree. His POST record, which was obtained in September 2025, lists ‘High School Diploma’ as his highest level of education. Those inconsistencies are just a glimmer of the irregularities outlined in a timeline put together by the claims made by Coleman himself.
Timeline
June 19, 1995 – Coleman is hired by the Thunderbolt Police Department in Chatham County where he worked as a Peace Officer.
June 30, 2005 – Coleman is terminated from Thunderbolt Police Department for Violation of Agency Policies (misappropriation, misuses, destruction, theft or conversion of town property or resources) following the criminal investigation into allegations that Coleman was working off-duty jobs while on duty for Thunderbolt PD.
There were instances where Coleman worked from 8:32 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. for Thunderbolt PD, but worked for another entity from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the same date. He was paid for working the hours at both agencies, but was only present at one.
In July 2005, the City of Thunderbolt overturns Coleman’s termination by the Chief of Police.
In September 2005, Coleman is counseled for failing to follow orders, ten days later for failing to respond to calls while working patrol, and at the end of the month after a complaint was filed against him. In that complaint, it was alleged that an arrest warrant had been issued for Coleman stemming from a three-party dispute.
October 5, 2005 – Coleman is placed on administrative desk duty for violating agency policies, including the Vehicle Take Home Policy, the Off Duty Employment Policy, and for his conduct during the September domestic incident.
October 6, 2005 – Coleman is arrested for Battery on the warrant stemming from the September incident, but the charge is later dismissed due to ‘insufficient evidence to support a conviction.’
December 2, 2005 – Coleman is suspended for fifteen days and demoted from captain to patrol officer for violation of agency policies. He was placed on one year probation and signed a “Last Chance” agreement, stating that he had violated a number of policies and if he violated any of the same policies again, he would be terminated.
December 27, 2005 – Coleman is terminated for violating the Last Chance Agreement after he failed to show up to work four days in a row.
December 28, 2005 – Coleman’s termination was changed to ‘resignation in lieu of termination’ because he submitted a letter dated December 26, 2005 resigning from his position. He called in sick every day until January 6, 2006 when he asked to pick up his final paycheck. POST records indicate he provided a ‘sick note’ from a doctor for January 5, 2006 and January 6, 2006.
A POST investigation was launched and POST recommended revoking Coleman’s law enforcement certification. His revocation was ultimately withheld and he was placed on Probation after agreeing to a Consent Order on August 8, 2007. The Consent Order was signed by Coleman, POST Council Chairman Michael Yeager, POST Council Executive Director Ryan Powell, Assistant Georgia Attorney General Destiny C. Smith, and Coleman’s attorney.
Records indicate he was under investigation with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for the matter involving the stealing of time. According to the POST Investigation case summary, “The district attorney decided not to prosecute because of a lack of pattern of violations.” TheGeorgiaVirtue.com has requested the file from the GBI, but the records division is currently backlogged.
January 7, 2006 – April 30, 2014
It is unclear where Coleman worked for the nearly ten years that are missing from his POST record, but it was not in a law enforcement agency within the State of Georgia. His POST record shows no training hours for any year beginning in 2006 and ending in 2013, which are requiring for maintaining a law enforcement certification.
According to court records, Coleman was also difficult to locate. At least one civil claim against him for nonpayment is filed in Chatham County.
May 1, 2014 – Coleman begins working as a Reserve Officer for the Stillmore Police Department (population 447) in Emanuel County. According to his POST training record, Coleman completes 15 training courses online with the Georgia Public Safety Training Center, takes a CPR class, and requalifies with his firearm.
February 16, 2015 – While on the roster as a Reserve Officer in Stillmore, Coleman is hired by Savannah State University Department of Public Safety. He voluntarily resigns from that position after 21 months.
October 31, 2016 – Coleman’s employment status with the Stillmore Police Department shifts from Reserve Officer to Peace Officer.
November 10, 2016 – Colemean resigns as a peace officer with Savannah State University Department of Public Safety.
February 27, 2017 – Coleman is listed as beginning his employment with Armstrong Atlantic State University Police Department. He voluntarily resigns the same day.
March 17, 2017 – Coleman is hired as a Captain for the Wadley Police Department (population 1,576) in Jefferson County.
March 29, 2017 – The City of Calhoun Falls, SC offers Coleman the position of Police Chief after he and four others were interviewed for the position. He told the city he had previously held the positions of “Interim Chief, Assistant Chief, Operations Commander, Chief of Internal Affairs, Investigator, and Community Relations Officer” during his employment in Thunderbolt, Stillmore, and at Savannah State University.
April 5, 2017 – Coleman declines the position as Chief of Calhoun Falls, SC “due to having to relocate.”
August 18, 2017 – After six months with the Wadley Police Department, Coleman resigns.
2019 – Court records indicate multiple individuals were unable to locate Coleman. The service for his divorce is listed on court dockets as undeliverable, as is a defaulted civil judgement levied against Coleman for failing to pay a $5,550 interest-free loan with Republic Finance.
July 9, 2019 – Coleman is hired as the Chief of Police in Arlington (population 1,137) in Calhoun and Early counties. Arlington is four and a half hours from Savannah and three and a half hours from Emanuel County, but his POST record indicates he was still working for the Stillmore Police Department at this time.
January 12, 2020 – Six months after starting with Arlington PD, Coleman resigns.
March 9, 2020 – Coleman is hired as the Chief of Police in Davisboro (population 1,946) in Washington County.
May 1, 2021 – Coleman is named as one of three finalists for Chief of Police for Gaffney, SC.
May 4, 2021 – Coleman resigns as the Chief of Police in Davisboro.
July 12, 2022 – Coleman resigns from his position as peace officer with the Stillmore Police Department. He is no longer employed with any law enforcement agency.
January 2023 – Coleman applies for the Chief of Police position in Port Wentworth (Chatham County). He is not hired.
February 22, 2023 – Coleman applies for a police officer position in the City of Guyton. His employment history lists only his work in Stillmore, Davisboro, and Arlington Police. For each, he lists his departure reason as ‘Better Job Opportunity,’ but at the time of his application, he was not employed with any agency.
He also listed his position with Stillmore, which is 3.2 square miles, as ‘Assistant Chief of Police’ who was in charge of Criminal Investigations and Patrol. For the question ‘May we contact your present employer?” Coleman checked NO.
Guyton does not hire him.
April 24, 2023 – Coleman is hired as the Assistant Chief of Police in the City of Brooklet (population 2,063) in Bulloch County.
October 2023 – Coleman announces candidacy for Chatham County Sheriff.
April 21, 2024 – Coleman is demoted to a part-time peace officer with the Brooklet Police Department, like due to his campaign for Sheriff in Chatham County.
November 6, 2024 – Coleman wins the election with 54% of the vote.
January 1, 2025 – Coleman resigns from the Brooklet Police Department as he is sworn in as Sheriff of Chatham County.
Explanations
Very little came out during the 2024 against incumbent Sheriff John Wilcher. The Savannah Morning News did ask Coleman on the campaign trail about being forced to resign in 2006 after he ‘got into a fight with another man at a woman’s house.’ Coleman replied, “In all fairness to me…I really want to stick with the election. Let me just say this, I have no criminal record. That was dismissed and expunged 20 years ago.”
The interviewer never inquired about the stolen time or the GBI investigation.
Coleman did have the records expunged from the State Court files, but TheGeorgiaVirtue was able to obtain the full case file from the Pre-Warrant Application filing, which details the altercation at length. While the criminal charge was dismissed, Coleman was disciplined for his conduct. The City of Thunderbolt no longer has any records, other than timesheets, related to Coleman’s employment.
TheGeorgiaVirtue.com reached out to the Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer, Tawana Garret, for clarification and to inquire if Coleman was employed by law enforcement in another state or in another trade altogether, but requests for input were not answered.
What came of the records of the other Chatham County SO’s employees?
I am amazed at this mans Law Officer record. It would seem there was very little or no investigation into his credentials as he was hired by all these departments. I can tell you I am grateful he wasn’t hired by Guyton to get in line with the other mistakes hired by our city. It seems he has no real qualifications to be in Law Enforcement period much less as a Chief or leader of any kind. What a black eye for those departments that hired him.
Coleman has done more for this county in the past 11 months that any other Sherriff we have had. He cares about the people and works everyday to make sure people know he is here for them. I have had personal and professional interactions with Sherriff Coleman, and from my opinion this man is what our county needs. We all have a past and it needs to stay in the past. We learn and grow from our past to become leaders and hard workers. So support our sherriff that we elected into office instead of trying to pull good people down.
No one cares about the past we voted him in and he is doing a great job presently. That’s good enough for me. Why dig all this up now who is behind this smear campaign. If wilcher was still in office this wouldn’t be in print i believe he got so much to hide he should have been fired long time ago. Let this man do his job.