Colonel David Huckstep, Chief Deputy

Col. David Huckstep is a 38 year veteran in law enforcement, including 26 years at the Gainesville, Florida Police Department where he worked all aspects of law enforcement and rose through the ranks to Police Commander. In 2001, after a lengthy nationwide search, he was selected by the City Council of Thomasville, Georgia, and served until November of 2006 as Thomasville’s Chief of Police where he promoted Community Oriented Policing and earned both National and State Accreditations.

Col. Huckstep holds a Masters in Public Administration from Columbus State University and a Bachelor of Science in Criminology from Indiana State University. He is a graduate of the 220th Session of the FBI National Academy and has attended numerous executive level training programs with well over 3000 hours of professional law enforcement training.

Col. Huckstep was chosen by Sheriff Sadie Darnell upon her election in 2006 to serve as her Chief Deputy, second in command. The Chief Deputy assists the Sheriff in the day-to-day operations of the agency and assumes command of the agency in absence of the Sheriff. Commanders who report directly to the Chief Deputy are:

Major of Operations (Criminal Investigations Division, Patrol Division, Patrol Support Division)

Major of Support Services (Administrative Services Division, Judicial Services & Training Division, Technical Services Division)

Major of the Jail (Security Operations Division, Support Services Division)