GA's 1st Puerto Rican Police Chief Is A Former Brookhaven Cop

BROOKHAVEN, GA — A Brookhaven police officer is now the first Puerto Rican person to lead a law enforcement agency in Georgia's history.

Maj. Renan Lopez de Azua of the Brookhaven Police Department was sworn in as the city of Morrow's new police chief Wednesday, BPD said in a news release. He grew up in Morrow after moving to mainland U.S. from Puerto Rico in 2003 and is a Morrow High School graduate.

He's the second Brookhaven officer to be selected as a chief of police since the department's inception in 2013. He was first recommended by Morrow's city manager and confirmed at the Morrow City Council meeting June 8.

“I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity to serve my hometown as their Chief of Police, and look forward to the opportunity to be part of the growth of the city,” Lopez said in the news release.

Lopez began his law enforcement career with the Clayton County Police Department in 2003, when he first moved to Morrow. He most recently served as the division commander of Brookhaven Police Department's patrol division — "the largest and most visible group of officers in the agency," according to the release.

He earned a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Miami. Lopez was also recently accepted into the Southern Police Institute at Louisville University and expects to attend in fall 2022, the release said.

“Lopez has been instrumental in the development of the Brookhaven Police Department and committed to our principles of community involvement and professional development," BPD Chief Gary Yandura said in the release. "We wish him success as Chief in Morrow.”

In January 2016, Brookhaven Police Lt. Tyrone Oliver was tapped as chief of police for Social Circle, Georgia. Oliver later served as Social Circle’s Deputy City Manager until he was appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp to head the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) in July 2020.