David Lamar Moore, who has served with the Hazlehurst Police Department since 2015, is preparing to step into the department’s top position. In an interview with Hazlehurst Now, Moore discussed the path that brought him to Hazlehurst, his approach to leadership and the priorities he hopes to tackle as chief. At the top of that list is staffing. “The main thing is to get our department fully staffed,” Moore said. He believes having adequate personnel will give the department greater ability to address some of the more serious challenges facing the community.
Among those challenges, Moore specifically pointed to gang activity and drugs. “People won’t believe it, but Hazlehurst does have gangs,” Moore said, adding that he is working with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on the issue. “To protect the citizens here in Hazlehurst — that’s my main goal.”
Moore also identified illegal drugs as an area he wants the department to focus on, noting that drug activity often contributes to other crimes, including burglaries and robberies, while also taking a toll on families. He said addressing those issues will require cooperation beyond city limits. Moore said he looks forward to strengthening the working relationship between the Hazlehurst Police Department and Jeff Davis County Sheriff’s Office.
He said he has already spoken with Sheriff Preston Bohannon and believes the two agencies can work well together. “When we’re shorthanded, they’re backing us up. We’re backing them up,” Moore said. “We’re going to do all we can to work together.” For Moore, that cooperation ultimately comes back to one goal: taking care of the citizens of Hazlehurst and Jeff Davis County.
Residents can also expect to see an emphasis on community policing under Moore’s leadership. He wants officers interacting with residents, becoming more visible at local businesses and making sure citizens know their police department is accessible. “We’re going to go out and start doing more community policing,” Moore said. He wants residents to know officers are there to protect and serve them, but also that they are approachable. “We’re reachable, we’re easy to talk to, we’re transparent,” he said. “We don’t have anything to hide.”
Asked what he hopes citizens will say about the department a year from now, Moore said he wants them to know that when they need the police, officers respond promptly and do everything possible to help. Whether that means investigating a burglary, locating a loved one or responding to another crisis, Moore said the department works for the citizens it serves.
He also wants residents to know their police chief will not be confined to an office. That philosophy extends to the way Moore plans to lead his officers. “I lead by example,” Moore said. “I wouldn’t ask them to do anything more than what I would do myself.” He said his officers already know that about him. If a shift needs to be worked, he will work it. If officers need help answering calls, he will go with them. “I’m no stranger to hard work,” Moore said.
Just as he wants the department to be accessible to the public, Moore said he intends to remain accessible to the men and women working for him. “My door is always open,” he said.
Moore’s path to the chief’s office has included military service, corrections, municipal law enforcement, investigations and even a period away from police work. Born in the Douglas area, Moore entered the military in 1985 and served approximately 12 years. After leaving the military, he worked as a correctional officer in Valdosta before moving into municipal law enforcement.
Over the course of his career, Moore said he repeatedly gravitated toward investigative work. “I love solving,” he said, describing his interest in solving crimes and working through the challenges that come with police investigations.
Moore later spent about 10 years in Gainesville, Florida, before family circumstances brought him back to Georgia. In 2015, he was working in retail management at Dollar General in Hazlehurst when an encounter involving local law enforcement helped steer him back toward his former profession. That same year, Moore joined the Hazlehurst Police Department.
More than a decade later, he is preparing to lead it. Moore said becoming chief represents something he has worked toward throughout his career. “I always said I wanted to get in a position where I could be able to help people,” he said.
Moore’s appointment is expected to become effective Jan. 1, although he still has required chief-related training and testing to complete. He said he is currently first on the waiting list for a November training class in Duluth and hopes a spot becomes available. If not, the next opportunity is scheduled for January. Moore said he does not yet know whether having to wait until January would affect his official start date.
For now, his focus remains on preparing for the job — and on the community he will serve. His vision is straightforward: a fully staffed department, stronger partnerships with other agencies, officers who are visible and approachable, and a police department that responds when citizens need it. And Moore says he expects no less from himself than he does from the officers he will lead. For Hazlehurst’s next police chief, leadership begins with showing up.
