Deputy Chief John Dalton joined the Atlanta Police Department in 1987 and upon being appointed Major in October of 2007 was made commander of the Major Crimes Section. He has a diverse background with the Atlanta Police Department that includes experience as an officer, investigator, sergeant, lieutenant, and assistant zone commander.
Deputy Chief Dalton worked in Zone 6, Central Crime Analysis and in Financial Investigations as a police officer. He was assigned to the Robbery Unit as an investigator. In the Olympic Planning Unit he was promoted to Sergeant, and following the Olympics was assigned to the Larceny / Major Fraud Unit. After his promotion to Lieutenant in 1999, he was assigned as the Morning Watch Commander in Zone 1. As a Lieutenant he has also supervised the Records, Advocacy and Inspections Unit in the Office of Professional Standards, served as commander of the Robbery Unit prior to decentralization; as the administrative Lieutenant over Decentralized Investigations; commander of Centralized Investigations in the Major Crimes Section; and as the Fugitive Unit commander. He was appointed to Assistant Zone Commander in 2006 and assigned to Zone 5.
In 2005, Deputy Chief Dalton was chosen to participate in the Police Foundation's Fellowship Program in Washington DC. The Police Foundation is focused on criminal-justice research and exposing law enforcement personnel and agencies to police policy, emerging technology, and training development concepts on a national level.
Deputy Chief Dalton is a resident of the City of Atlanta's Castleberry Hill neighborhood. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia, and a Deans Scholar graduate of the University of Louisville's 117th Administrative Officers Course.