By Joe Johnson
For the second time this week, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has announced the promotion in the agency’s upper management of an agent who got their start in law enforcement with the Athens Clarke County Police Department.
On Wednesday the GBI said that Agent Ryan Carmichael had been promoted to Inspector, and his duties will now include providing supervisory and administrative oversight to several Investigative Division work units around the state, to include the Atlanta Regional Investigative Office and the Training Unit.
Carmichael began his law enforcement career as a police officer with the Athens-Clarke County Police Department in 1999. He then became employed with the GBI in 2001 and held assignments as a special agent in the Region 13-Perry, Region 6-Milledgeville, Middle Georgia Regional Drug Enforcement Office, and the GBI Training Unit offices. He was promoted to Assistant Special Agent in Charge and served at the Georgia Information Sharing and Analysis Center (GISAC) and the Region 6 office. He was then promoted to Special Agent in Charge of GISAC in 2018 where he served until his promotion to Inspector.
Earlier this week the GBI said that Mark Lavender had been promoted to special agent in charge of Region 10, which includes the counties of Clayton, Cobb, Dekalb, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton and Rockdale
Lavender joined ACCPD in 1998 and went on to have a career with the GBI that has lasted 22 years, in which he was assigned to the Gainesville Regional Drug Enforcement Office and later worked in Canton, and the GBI’s major theft unit.
Congrats to both Ryan and Mark. ACCPD sent more than 10% of the Agent school that began in Feb. 2001 for the GBI. It was a very good class for the GBI as a large number of the members have reached high levels at the GBI or distinguished themselves in other ways. Chief Lumpkin pointed out at the time that the loss would be significant to our community. While our state gained some great people, who have helped our people, it is a good demonstration of the great officers who worked in Athens but found more fertile fields elsewhere. Brain drain is a problem for any organization but these promotions should be a good signal of what we've l…