Veteran law enforcement officer Terry Norman, 54, has announced he plans to seek the office of coroner of Columbia County, which has been left open by the retirement of Vernon Collins, the longtime coroner.
The current interim coroner, Keith Cox, came out of retirement to hold down the position and has no plans to run for the office outright.
“I talked to Keith and, of course, out of respect asked him about it, and he assured me that he had no plans to run,” Norman said.
Norman has a combined 26 years in law enforcement with a decade spent at the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and the last 16 years at the Richmond County Marshal’s Office.
Norman served on the Crimes Against the Vulnerable and the Elderly Task Force under the direction of then District Attorney Natalie Paine. Norman has also sat on the homeless task force for Augusta Richmond County and has been a member of the planning committee for City Serve Augusta since 2018.
While Norman praises the work of longtime Columbia County Coroner Tommy King Sr. and his successor Vernon Collins, Norman says that he will work to further modernize the coroner’s office.
“Both of those men served with excellence and I want to continue to streamline the office into the 21st century with new technology as it becomes available,” Norman said.
The fact that it takes months for county coroners in Georgia to receive toxicology screens on accident and murder victims is a situation that Norman is well aware of and says that while a local coroner’s role is limited, he wants to work with other local coroners to lobby the GBI to remedy the problem.
“I would relish a seat at that table and that conversation. What Georgia really needs is to put in place the incentives for forensic doctors and medical assistants to want to stay in the state rather than move on after college,” Norman said.
This next year will see Norman retire from the Marshal’s Office and he says that this next step is something he has prayed about and feels he is being guided in the right direction.
Norman’s colleagues agree. Chief Deputy of the Richmond County Marshal’s Office Scott Peebles says that while the department will miss him, Columbia County will be getting a well-trained and capable man for the job of coroner.
“I think he will make an excellent coroner. Whatever he sinks his effort into, he becomes an expert in it. That is just his nature. As a resident of Columba County, I think he will do an outstanding job,” Peebles said.
Columbia County Assistant District Attorney Natalie Paine says she thinks Norman is a perfect fit as well.
“He has always been willing to volunteer and do whatever is asked of him. I applaud him for taking this next step. He will be great for Columbia County,” Paine said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
