Mock Named Interim Chief

During last Thursday night’s called meeting of the Hazlehurst City Council, James Mock, who has served as captain of the Hazlehurst Police Department for the past 27 months, was named interim police chief to replace Ken Williams, who has served as chief since January 2017.
Williams resigned from HPD, effective this week, to take another position with the Georgia State Patrol.
The meeting was governed over by Ward 1 Councilman and Mayor Pro-Tem Dywane Johnson in the absence of Mayor Bayne Stone.
Before the council went into closed session to discuss Williams’s replacement, Ward 2 Councilman John Ramay stated the city was under a “crucial situation” to hire a new police chief, adding, “We’re looking at the situation and solutions, temporary and permanent.”
The vote to hire Mock was unanimous.
Mock, who also owns a farm in Pierce County, has more than four decades of experience in law enforcement.  After thanking the council for “having confidence” to hire him, Mock said, “We’re going to lean on each other while we’re doing this.  My biggest goal is to try to serve the public we’re entrusted to serve.”
The application process for a permanent chief will take place later in the year.