Attending the flag dedication ceremony were (l-r) Scott Thurston, Jackson Police Chief Matt Garrison, Former Butts County Sheriff Gene Pope and Walter Clark, a former New York City police officer and now resident of Jackson. Butts County Commissioner Russ Crumbley attended the ceremony honoring Chief Charlie Thornton only to discover his family is related to the Thornton family. Pictured (l-r) are Jo Ellen Thornton (the widow of the chief’s grandson), Michael Thornton (the chief’s great grandson) and Crumbley. Michael Thornton, the chief’s great grandson, addresses the crowd. Jackson Mayor Carlos Duffey reads a proclamation honoring Chief Charlie Thornton. Retired Georgia State Patrol Master Trooper Truman Boyle of Barnesville played Taps at the flag dedication ceremony. JACKSON — The city of Jackson Police Department dedicated its flagpole in honor and memory of JPD Chief Charlie T. Thornton in a ceremony held Friday, Oct. 23 at 10 a.m. The flagpole is located in front of the police department at 102 East Third St. in Jackson in the former Bank of America building. Thornton began working in law enforcement in 1911 and served as Jackson’s police chief from 1920-1931 and again from 1935 until his death in 1938. He was killed in the line of duty on Oct. 25, 1938 while trying to arrest three robbery suspects. The incident occurred across from the Butts County Courthouse on Second Street. Two of the men were convicted of his murder, sentenced to death and executed in the…
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