DECATUR, Ga. — Voters picked a replacement Tuesday for a sheriff-elect who had promised to reform the department but was assassinated before he could take office.
Thomas Brown, 48, who has served as interim DeKalb County sheriff since the December shooting of Derwin Brown, had more than 80 percent of the votes with all 168 precincts reporting.
Brown, who is not related to Derwin Brown, said deputies were eager to shake allegations of corruption that have dogged the department for 30 years.
"They're concerned about that perception out there, and we're going to change that very quickly," he said. "That's going to be my easiest job."
Derwin Brown, who defeated incumbent Sheriff Sidney Dorsey in a runoff in August, had pledged to fire 38 department employees when he took office Jan. 1.
He was shot 11 times when he returned to his Decatur home shortly before midnight Dec. 15. His wife and five children found him lying in the driveway.
Two men were arrested last week and charged with lying to police investigating Brown's death. But police have not identified any suspects in the killing.
Brown said the investigation into the death had raised interest in the election.
About 18 percent of voters turned out, almost twice the norm for an off-year special election.
The sheriff's main duty is running the county jail.