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Cordele City Manager Edward Beach announced today that Cordele Police Department Deputy Chief Lewis Green took over the role of police chief on January 1. He had been the pro-forma acting chief since the resignation of Robert Rodriguez in December.

From a press release issued by Beach’s office at 2:48 p.m. on Wednesday: “I would like to announce the appointment of Deputy Chief Lewis Green to the position of Police Chief, effective January 1, 2019.  Lewis brings 34 years of policing experience to this position and that is just his career span in the City of Cordele. He has served in other public safety capacities in various cities.  Also, he has served as Interim Police Chief on three separate occasions during his tenure with the City and served in many supervisory capacities throughout the years. I look forward to working with Chief Green in the future as we seek to progress this city and I hope you will join me in welcoming him to this position!”

From a biography of Chief Green provided by the city:

“Chief of Police Lewis Green joined law enforcement in July 1976 with Dougherty County Police Department. During this 9 year venture, he was promoted through the ranks to Assistant Division Commander over the DUI Task Force of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

Lewis started working with the Cordele Police Department in February 1985. By June 1985 he was promoted to Lieutenant as a shift commander. Lewis was promoted from Lieutenant to Captain and from Captain to Major. He held the title of Major for 18 years. As Major, he was in charge of both the Patrol Division and of Criminal Investigations. During this time, he was promoted to Colonel. Due to a change in administration, Lewis was retitled from Colonel to Deputy Chief.

Lewis has successfully completed hundreds of hours training during his law enforcement career. He received 120 hours management training in 1989. He successfully completed “Management for Small Law Enforcement Agencies” in 1992. He also attended and completed “Chief Executive Training” in 2015.

Chief Green holds many Instructor Certifications. This includes Firearms Instructor, Automatic Weapons Instructor, Defensive Tactics Instructor and Academics Instructor.

Lewis is also a military veteran. He enlisted in the Marine Corp in 1968 and served in Vietnam. He received two purple hearts during his service.

Lewis is happily married and has three children and four grandchildren. He stands strong in his Faith with God and is active in his Church. In his spare time, he loves to go fishing.

Chief Green served as Interim Chief of Police with the Cordele Police Department in 2010 and also in 2014. He is honored to serve as Chief of Police for the Cordele Police Department as he enters his 42nd year of his law enforcement career.”