DEKALB COUNTY, GA — The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners has unanimously approved renaming the county’s East Police Precinct in Lithonia after Eddie Moody, the department’s first Black police chief.
The precinct will be renamed the Chief Eddie Moody Precinct. District 5 Commissioner Mereda Davis Johnson put forth the legislation, which commissioners approved on Sept. 22.
“Chief Eddie Moody, first African-American to serve as the chief of police in DeKalb County, I can go on and on about his much deserving of this honor,” Johnson said.
Moody joined the DeKalb County Police Department in 1973 and rose through the ranks before becoming police chief in 2001.
During his time with the department, Moody created the Junior Police Academy and helped establish the department’s Crime Analysis Unit.
“It is my honor and privilege to have brought it before the commission,” Johnson said.
Moody, now 72, retired from the department in 2004.
“I look forward to being there for the renaming,” Johnson said.
WSB Radio’s Ashley Simmons & Michelle Wright contributed to this story.