Suwanee police chief appointed to state law enforcement board

Suwanee Police Chief Cass Mooney has moved from running one of Gwinnett County’s busiest suburban departments to a seat in Georgia’s statewide police leadership network, a post that could influence how agencies across north metro Atlanta approach training, standards and coordination. For Forsyth County readers, the appointment matters because decisions made in that circle can ripple into mutual-aid planning, specialty team support and the expectations local departments face on recruitment, technology and school safety.

Mooney’s rise has been built inside Suwanee, where he has worked since 1997 after starting his law-enforcement career in 1994 with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office. He was named Suwanee police chief in February 2021 after serving as deputy chief, taking over a department that the city says serves about 19,000 residents and handles roughly 82,000 calls for service each year.

The Suwanee Police Department says it is nationally accredited by CALEA and certified by the state of Georgia, with average response times of 6.26 minutes for non-emergencies and 4.86 minutes for emergencies. The department also maintains mutual-aid agreements with nearby agencies for K9, SWAT and other specialized services, a reminder that municipal policing in north Georgia often depends on working relationships that cross city and county lines.

Mooney’s new role with the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police gives Suwanee a voice in a statewide professional organization that says it offers conferences, training and a district representative structure. That is where the broader policy conversations happen: what training chiefs prioritize, how departments prepare new recruits, how agencies respond to high-risk calls, and how leaders share practices on school safety and use-of-force standards.

Mooney brings more than street-level experience to the board. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and Georgia Command College, and he holds a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Those credentials matter in a statewide forum where chiefs are often asked to balance staffing pressure, public trust and the demands of modern policing.

His appointment also extends the legacy of Suwanee’s police leadership. In 2021, City Manager Marty Allen praised Mooney and said Chief Mike Jones had transformed the department during his 23 years in Suwanee before retiring after 47 years in law enforcement. Now Mooney is helping shape the larger system that cities like Suwanee and neighboring Forsyth County departments rely on when local policing becomes a regional issue.