Voters Could Get A Say On Abolishing Glynn County Police After Ahmaud Arbery Death

The state House voted 159-3 on Monday to approve Senate Bill 504, creating a nonbinding advisory referendum on whether to abolish the department and hand its law enforcement responsibilities back to the elected county sheriff in unincorporated parts of the coastal Georgia county.

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A campaign to let local voters decide whether to abolish the scandal-plagued Glynn County police department has gone to Gov. Brian Kemp for his approval or veto, having gained support in the Georgia legislature following the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery.

The state House voted 159-3 on Monday to approve Senate Bill 504, creating a nonbinding advisory referendum on whether to abolish the department and hand its law enforcement responsibilities back to the elected county sheriff in unincorporated parts of the coastal Georgia county.

A separate measure that would make the referendum binding passed the House on Friday by a vote of 152-3 and is pending before the Senate. If that also passes in the waning days of this legislative session, it would fall to Kemp to decide how much power to give the county’s voters to decide the issue in November.