Clarkston, GA — Clarkston Police Chief Christine Hudson has been suspended for five days, starting today, April 14.

City officials will not say why the chief has been suspended. Chief Hudson said she was unable to comment.  Mayor Beverly Burks and Councilmember Jamie Carroll both confirmed the news to Decaturish.  Mayor Burks said Richard Pope is the acting police chief during the suspension.

“It’s an internal personnel issue,” Burks said.

City Manager Shawanna Qawiy declined to answer questions about the situation.

“This is a personnel matter, and the City does not respond publicly on personnel matters,” she said.

Chief Hudson joined Clarkston in 2009 as a lieutenant, and worked her way through the ranks to become chief in 2012. She’s received accolades throughout her career, which began in 1983.

“In 1991, the Georgia Women in Law Enforcement named her ‘honoree’ for the DeKalb County Officer of the Year program,” her biography on the city’s website says. “That same year she was honored by the Georgia Bar Association as ‘Officer of the Year’ for DeKalb County. Hudson has also co-authored an article titled ‘A Small City’s Approach to a Big Drug Problem,’ published in the Law-and-Order magazine.”

In 2005, Hudson went to Baghdad to help train the Iraqi Police.

“While there, Hudson became a Team Leader to American contractors who worked with the Iraqi Major General in charge of Iraq Internal Affairs,” her biography on the city’s website says.

Hudson is a member of the Georgia Chiefs Association and the International Chiefs Association, the city’s website says. She’s past president of the DeKalb Chiefs Association and is a board member for the Commission on Family Violence and also sits on the Criminal Justice Information Services Advisory Policy Board, the city’s website says.

“Chief Hudson has spent her career serving others and has a particular passion for those who are disadvantaged by their circumstances,” the city’s website says. “She has developed a reputation for being unafraid to stand up for defenseless victims, especially victims of family violence.”

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