On March 13, 2024, Sheriff Ezell Brown and the Newton County Sheriff's Office hosted a tabletop exercise and invited local emergency response agencies and organizations to participate. The tabletop exercise focused on how local agencies and organizations would work together to respond to a crisis in the Newton County community while continuing to manage the daily functions of their respective agencies and organizations.

The exercise demonstrated the strong working relationships among the local agencies and organizations. Additionally, it identified the external support areas that can assist with the critical incidents when it exceeds the capabilities of any single agency. During the exercise, the County identified some necessary equipment needs.

The following agencies participated: Newton County Sheriff's Office, Covington Police Department, Covington Fire Department, Piedmont Newton Hospital, Central EMS, Newton County Emergency Management Agency, Georgia Emergency Management Agency, Newton County Fire Department, Newton County Human Resources, Newton County Manager, and Covington-Newton 911.

"Sheriff Brown thanks every agency and organization that took the time to participate in the exercise," a press release stated. "The exercise met a required Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) standard for the NCSO. In order to ensure the functionality of the County if a catastrophic even should occur, the NCSO will host more table top exercises in the future and invite more agencies and organization to join the discussion," a press release stated.