Waldrop Named Commander of Georgia State Patrol

A Franklin County resident is the new head of the Georgia State Patrol.

Sgt. Tommy Waldrop, of Canon, was promoted to the rank of Major and named the new Commander of the Georgia State Patrol earlier this week.

“It will definitely be a challenge,” Waldrop said Tuesday. “I’m humbled and honored to have been considered, but I am definitely looking forward to it.”

In addition, to commanding all 51 Patrol Posts in Georgia, his duties will also include commander of the State of Georgia SWAT Team, the Georgia State Patrol Dive Team, the Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team (SCRT), the Criminal Interdiction Unit (CIU), the Motorcycle Unit, Implied Consent and the Nighthawks DUI Task Forces.

Waldrop and his family live in Canon, and while his new office is now in Atlanta, he says he has no plans to pull up stakes and move to the metro area.

“I will commute. We have lived in Canon since 1998,” he said. “My kids have gone to school here and I have one still in Franklin County Schools. We love our community and our neighbors and we’re going to stay right here.”

Waldrop has been with the Georgia State Patrol for 23 years.

Major Waldrop graduated from the 66th Georgia State Patrol Trooper School in 1992 and was assigned to GSP Athens.

He has also served at GSP Toccoa and GSP Gainesville as a supervisor and was promoted to Lieutenant and Assistant Troop Commander for Troop B in 2011.

He was promoted to Captain and Troop B Commander in 2012.