Georgia Police Chief Apologizes For Lynching Of Black Man In 1940

LaGrange, Georgia, police chief Louis Dekmar (right) shaking NAACP president Ernest Ward's hand

A Georgia police chief has apologized for the death of a black man that was shot to death and lynched almost 77 years ago.

In a report from Reuters, Louis Dekmar, LaGrange, Georgia's current police chief, offered a public apology to the family of Austin Callaway, as well as the rest of the small city's black community, after recently learning of Callaway's death. The local police never investigated his death, or kept a record of the mob that took Callaway either.

Callaway was abducted by a mob of white men from the city's jail back in September 1940, where he was then led into the woods and shot multiple times before being lynched. The young black man was only 18 at the time, having been jailed following allegations that he assaulted a white woman.

Dekmar's apology is considered a rarity by historians, especially since official gestures like that are uncommon in the U.S. South.

"It was as if it was erased from the memory of the white community," Dekmar, who is white, said in a phone interview. "But the black community still remembers, and I want to acknowledge that this happened and it was wrong."

A 61-year-old, Dekmar has served as LaGrange's police chief for 22 years. How he came to learn of Callaway's story was when an older black women visited the police station, and upon seeing pictures of older officers said "Those are the ones who killed our people."

The remark then led Dekmar to ask questions across the community, which resulted in him learning about Callaway.

A ceremony was held for the young black man this past Thursday, where Dekmar spoke to an audience that included some of Callaway's family.

"What was done was wrong," Dekmar said during the ceremony. "I, on behalf of the LaGrange Police Department and the city of LaGrange, want to acknowledge the police department's failure to take crucial action in its obligation to protect Austin Callaway on Sept. 8, 1940. An acknowledgment and apology is necessary to aid in healing wounds of past brutalities and injustice."