Moore Is New Police Chief

With the full Hazlehurst City Council in attendance — including Mayor John Ramay, Ward 1 Councilman Dwyane Johnson, Ward 2 Councilwoman Elizabeth Oliver and Ward 3’s Christopher Jones — the council’s called meeting last week marked a historic moment for the city.
Ward 4 remains vacant.
For the first time in Hazlehurst’s history, a Black police chief will lead the Hazlehurst Police Department. David Lamar Moore, a longtime criminal investigator and detective who’s been with the department since 2015, was unanimously selected to succeed current Chief James Mock, effective Jan. 1, 2027.
City Attorney Cason Smith, of Smith and Smith in Hazlehurst, read the council’s decision following a closed session, “The decision is to select David Moore as chief of the Hazlehurst Police Department, beginning and effective Jan. 1, 2027, contingent upon his completion of the required classes and certifications under applicable law.”
Johnson made the motion to appoint Moore, and Oliver seconded it. The council approved the appointment unanimously.
Under the city charter, the chief of police is appointed by the City Council rather than elected directly by voters. The appointment follows an extended public advertising and interviewing process before the council made its final selection.