Sheriff Ashley Henson

Sheriff Ashley Henson is a lifelong resident of Paulding County. He graduated from East Paulding High School with honors in 1996. After high school, he enrolled in college where he later graduated from the University of West Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Criminology in December of 2000. In December of 2002 he graduated from the University of West Georgia with a Master of Arts in Sociology with an emphasis on Criminology. While he was finishing up his Master's Degree, he began his career with the Paulding County Sheriff's Office in September of 2002 under Sheriff Bruce Harris. Ashley ran for Sheriff of Paulding County in 2024 where he was overwhelmingly elected to office.

Paulding County Service

Sheriff Henson began his career with the Paulding County Sheriff's Office as a Jailer in the Paulding County Jail. After a brief time in the Jail, Sheriff Henson attended P.O.S.T. Basic Mandate Training and transferred to the Uniform Patrol Division. Sheriff Henson was later laterally transferred to the K-9 Division where he handled a dual-purpose law enforcement K-9 under the direction of Captain Gary Gulledge prior to him being elected Sheriff. Sheriff Henson worked K-9 Grep where the two were responsible for locating hundreds of pounds of drugs and numerous criminals. Sheriff Henson worked in the K-9 Division for approximately eight years.

In January of 2012, Sheriff Henson was promoted to Corporal and tasked by Sheriff Gulledge as the full time Public Information Officer for the Paulding County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Henson was responsible with being the point of contact between Sheriff Gulledge, the Sheriff's Office, and the community both in the media and in the public. Even as the Sheriff, he is still very active in the community and serves on several boards and organizations in Paulding County. Sheriff Henson also maintained the Sheriff's Office Social Media pages as well as the agency website. He was also responsible for the creation of the uniform policy as well as the commendation and awards policy at the Sheriff’s Office.    

In March of 2012, Sheriff Henson joined the SWAT Team where he was assigned to the sniper element. Sheriff Henson was the sniper team leader where he oversaw and directed sniper operations for the SWAT Team. In November of 2022 he completed his final class and achieved the coveted P.O.S.T. SWAT Officer Certification. Sheriff Henson completed over 500 hours of training just for this certification and at the time he obtained it, he was only one of ten people to have ever achieved this certification in the entire State of Georgia. Sheriff Henson was also the driving force in the completion of grants through the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMA) which allowed the Sheriff's Office to receive a Lenco Bearcat G3 armored vehicle for the SWAT Team in March of 2022. Sheriff Henson retired from the SWAT Team in March of 2023 with 11 years of service.

Sheriff Henson ran for Sheriff in 2024 where he won his primary claiming an overwhelming 56% of the vote. With no other opposition, he went on to amass a record setting 74,911 votes in the general election in November which is the most votes any elected official has ever received in the history of Paulding County. Sheriff Henson took office on January 1, 2025 becoming the 50th Sheriff of Paulding County, Georgia.  

Sheriff Henson is also a graduate of the esteemed Leadership Georgia program for 2023. This is one of the premier statewide leadership programs in the United States. Leadership Georgia prepares strong and effective leaders for the future development of the State of Georgia. Sheriff Henson is also a 2014 graduate of the Paulding Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Paulding 24 Class. Sheriff Henson is also involved in numerous local organizations and boards.   

Local Boards/Organizations

o Leadership Georgia 23 Graduate (2023)

o Leadership Paulding 24 Graduate (2014)

o North Central Georgia Law Enforcement Academy Board Member (2025)

o Paulding County Chamber Of Commerce Board of Directors (2025)

o CareLink of Northwest Georgia Advisory Board Member  

o Paulding County School District Superintendent's Advisory Board Member

o United Way of Paulding County Board Member (Chairman 2022-2023)

o Wellstar Paulding Hospital Regional Board Member

o Paulding Public Safety Appreciation, Inc. Agency Advisory Board Member

o Jess Rousey Honoring Heroes Foundation, Inc. Board Member

o University of West Georgia Criminology MA Advisory Committee 2023

o Alcohol/Drug Awareness Program Host

o Paulding Board of Commissioners Employee of the Month Committee

o Paulding Comprehensive Transportation Plan Stakeholder Member 2012, 2022 

o Paulding County High School Principal Selection Committee (Dec. 2023)

Sheriff Henson has received over 5,800 hours of Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council (P.O.S.T.) certified training in his career. In addition to the training/certifications which are listed below, Sheriff Henson works hand in hand with all of the government entities in Paulding County to spread awareness about the Sheriff's Office and law enforcement operations. He also teaches active shooter training to civilian groups in Paulding County as well as the Paulding County Sheriff's Office Citizen's Handgun Safety Class. 

 -P.O.S.T. Sheriff Certification

-P.O.S.T. Level IV/Master Instructor

-P.O.S.T Level III/Senior Instructor

-P.O.S.T. General Instructor

-P.O.S.T. Use of Force Instructor

-P.O.S.T. Driver Training Instructor

-P.O.S.T. Precision Immobilization Technique (P.I.T.) Instructor

-P.O.S.T. Defensive Tactics Instructor

-P.O.S.T. Shotgun Instructor

-P.O.S.T. SWAT Officer Certification 

-C.R.A.S.E. Active Shooter Training Instructor

-A.L.I.C.E. Active Shooter Training Instructor

-P.O.S.T. Senior Deputy Certification

-P.O.S.T. Management Certification

-P.O.S.T. Supervisory Certification

-P.O.S.T. Advanced Certification

-P.O.S.T. Intermediate Certification

-P.O.S.T. Field Training Officer (FTO) Certification

-P.O.S.T. RADAR / LIDAR Certification

-P.O.S.T. Crisis Intervention Team Training (C.I.T)

-P.O.S.T. Basic Peace Officer Certification

-P.O.S.T. Jailer Certification

 Personal

Sheriff Henson is married to his college sweetheart Jodie and they have two teenage boys, Asher and Breck. They reside just outside the City of Dallas on their family farm and are members of the Dallas First United Methodist Church. Their children are 9th generation Paulding Countians. Jodie is employed as an elementary school administrator with the Paulding County School District. Ashley enjoys coaching and watching youth sports in Paulding County and spending time with his family. They are avid skiers/snowboarders and enjoy time in the mountains of the western United States.