04/11/2026
UPDATE - CALHOUN PD’S CHIEF TONY PYLE PLACED ON PAID ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE: Calhoun Administrator Paul Worley has released the following statement concerning Calhoun Police Chief Tony Pyle:
“As of this afternoon, Calhoun Police Chief Tony Pyle has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an independent investigation. Lt. Colonel Ken Carson will be serving as Interim Chief during the investigation.”
As the Gazette originally reported, the Calhoun City Council met this morning in a Special Called Meeting, immediately going into executive session, where they stayed for about two hours before adjourning.
Mayor Jimmy Palmer was not in attendance at the meeting, but Council members Ed Moyer, Al Edwards, Jackie Palazzolo and Bruce Potts, as well as Administrator Paul Worley and Attorney Brandon Bowen were all in attendance.
While we’re not exactly sure what the investigation concerns, the Gazette released a story last Thursday which examined a questionable incident in September 2021 involving a suspicious vehicle 911 call in Floyd County involving Pyle and a woman passenger. After the responding officer arrived on scene, it appears the incident was possibly a sexual encounter, with the Floyd County PD officer who responded telling Pyle and the woman that "Y’all know a bedroom is better than this, right?” and asking them to put their clothes on.
The Gazette received a response from Pyle about the incident, where he said, "At the time of the incident, I was in Rome for a business trip and was returning back to Calhoun. While traveling, I received a call from an informant who stated that she needed immediate assistance. She claimed to have information regarding a major drug dealer and that her life was in danger. After reassuring my passenger that this young lady who called me posed no threat and I believed she was in danger if I did not act. [W]e agreed picking the informant up in Shannon was the right thing to do. She (informant) was extremely distressed and hysterical due to a resent [sic] altercation with said drug dealer."
Calhoun Administrator Paul Worley told the Gazette last week that "This incident was reported to the City for investigation, and it was thoroughly investigated. The allegations are serious and would be a violation of City of Calhoun policy. At the same time, the allegations were vehemently denied and have not been substantiated. The body camera footage you reference does not itself show the violation, and the Floyd County officer did not issue a citation or a report that would support the allegation. Ultimately, the City has issued a reprimand that is appropriate to the severity of the allegations, but also considers the age of the alleged conduct (more than four years ago), the fact that they are not substantiated, and the long service of the Chief."
You can read the original story here: https://www.gordongazettega.com/2026news
On Monday, the Gazette sent the Calhoun City Council, Administrator Worley, Mayor Palmer and Chief Pyle the below follow-up questions concerning the 2021 suspicious vehicle incident and have not received much of a response and none of the requested documentation we asked for. The questions we had are:
1. Did Chief Pyle alert Floyd County PD that he was inside their jurisdiction performing a law enforcement action on Sept. 22, 2021?
2. What follow-up coordination did Chief Pyle perform with Floyd County PD after the alleged "emergency" with the "confidential informant" subsided, since it happened inside Floyd County's jurisdiction?
3. Was the Rome DEA Office informed that Chief Pyle was working a case/informant in Floyd County? If so, please send over supporting documents.
4. Was Chief Pyle deputized on Sept. 22, 2021 at the time of the event through a local sheriff's office or as a federal task force officer, in order to be legally operating outside of his jurisdiction in an official capacity. Please send documentation if so.
5. Was any corresponding information gained, by meeting the informant, passed on to the Calhoun Police Department's Safe Streets Task Force detectives or action? If so, please send documentation.
6. Is there a Department of Justice press release, FBI press release or DEA press release addressing the arrest Chief Pyle mentions in his statement to the Gazette? If so, is the Calhoun Police Department mentioned in the press release as a participating and/or supporting agency?
7. According to a phone call the Gazette received on Saturday from Chief Pyle's wife, the "confidential informant" that Chief Pyle met during the incident on Sept. 22, 2021 was hiding in the van, meaning the person seen in the front passenger seat in the body cam footage was the employee from the City of Calhoun. Was that employee in the front passenger seat a sworn law enforcement officer privy to the sensitive case information that the informant would have been discussing with Chief Pyle? If not, what is the department procedure that permits non-law enforcement personnel to have access to that discussion?
The limited response the Gazette received was from Pyle himself, who said, "I am not required to alert anyone as far as just picking up an informant. No drug business took place in Floyd County. Look up O.C.G.A. 24-5-505 I will not be releasing any further info pertaining to said informant."
The Gordon Gazette has begun the task of looking into multiple claims of alleged misconduct and wrong-doing within the Calhoun Police Department.
