Douglas, GA Chief Shane Edmisten Tapped as New Lavonia Police Chief

The Lavonia City Council and Mayor Courtney Umbehant have named their candidate for the new Lavonia Police Chief.

At a special called session Friday afternoon the City Council voted to hire Chief Shane Edmisten as the new Chief.

Edminsten is currently the Chief of Police in Douglas, Georgia.

“I think Chief Edmisten will be an asset, will bring a lot of positive change to the Department, and help the Department build towards the future,” Umbehant said. “He’s very accomplished. He puts a lot of emphasis on training. He has a humble demeanor, which goes a long way when you’re dealing with people in a small town. He struck me as the type of person who really believes in investing in his officers and helping them find opportunities for advancement and continued training.”

He replaces former Chief Bruce Carlisle who served for 14 years before retiring at the end of last November.

Carlisle has known Edminsten for years and credits the Council and Mayor for making an excellent choice.

“Shane is more than qualified for the position. He will come in and examine every function of the Police Department and see if there are things that can be done better,” Carlisle said. “He will bring new initiatives to the Police Department….For the citizens, he believes in community-oriented policing. He’ll take what’s already there and build on it. And the citizens will certainly benefit from that. And I look at this as a win, win, win for the City of Lavonia. He brings a lot to the City of Lavonia and I certainly applaud the Mayor and Council members for looking outside the box. When you look for a police chief you certainly want to find the most qualified. And they absolutely hit it out of the park on this one.”

Edmisten was born and raised in Buford, GA, and is a 1991 graduate of North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee.

He attended Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College where he earned his Associate,s Degree in Criminal Justice and his GA POST peace officer certification.

Edmisten began his career at the Suwanee Police Department as a part-time dispatcher in 1993 before going to work with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office in 1994.

He then returned to the Suwanee Police Department later that year and worked as a Patrol Officer, Detective, and Sergeant, and retired as a Captain in 2019.

While employed with the Suwanee Police Department, Chief Edmisten earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice Administration and his Master of Public Administration from Columbus State University through the Georgia Law Enforcement Command College.

He also attended the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police (GACP) New Chiefs School.

Edmisten is a POST-Certified Instructor and has obtained his Intermediate, Advanced, Supervisory, Management, and Executive POST Certificates.

He is also a member of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

He also serves as a team leader for the GACP State Certification program.

Chief Edmisten is married to his wife Michelle Edmisten and they have two adult children, Dakota Groover, and McKenzie Edmisten.