City of Waycross

Major Danny Hampton began his career with the Waycross Police Department as a police officer in May 1994. He was appointed as a Field Training Officer in 1996 and was responsible for training new officers for duty. He also attended specialized training in Accident Investigation and was assigned as an accident investigator for traffic accidents involving serious injuries and fatalities.

He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in October of 2001. He acted as a Watch Commander for the department for five years. He supervised a shift of police officers and ensured each officer performed their assigned duties. As a Sergeant, he was assigned as the representative for the department with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. While acting as a police officer and Sergeant he was awarded many Field Performance Awards including two commendations, community service awards, an Educational Achievement Award, and the Gold Star which represents the Chief’s award.

Major Hampton was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in August 2006 and assigned to the Administrative Services Section. At this time he was responsible for administrative duties including supervising the Support Services Unit, Georgia Crime Information Center Operations, Record Keeping, and was assigned as the Court Services Commander for Municipal Court. He was also appointed as the Accreditation Manager for the Department through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) which is a national organization for elite law enforcement agencies, and as the State Certification Manager through the Georgia Police Accreditation Coalition for the state of Georgia.

In May 2013, he was promoted to the rank of Captain where he served as the Administrative Services Section Commander. Major Hampton was then in charge of all the administrative operations of the department including the Financial Services, Personnel and Training Unit, and the Support Services Unit. He was also responsible for the Evidence and Property Storage for the department, and he acted as the Internal Affairs Officer for the department. During this time, he remained the Accreditation and Certification Manager for the department as well.

In March 2020, he was appointed as the Major of the department. He now acts as the Assistant Chief of Police and the Operations Commander overseeing all sections of the department.

Major Hampton has about 3,000 hours of police training including completion of the FBI National Academy Session 271, and the Professional Management Program and the Georgia Law Enforcement Command College through Columbus State University. He also has his managerial certification through the Police Officer Standards and Training Council. Major Hampton obtained his associate degree in Criminal Justice through Waycross College in 1994. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Columbus State University in 2008 and is currently working toward obtaining a master’s degree.

Capt. Paul “Ryan” Crawford was born and raised in Hazlehurst, Ga. He is the son of Janis Dawson and the late Leon Crawford. He is a 1991 graduate of Jeff Davis High School. Capt. Crawford attended Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College where he graduated the basic police training program in 1994.

Capt. Crawford began his career with the Waycross Police Department in September 1994 as a patrol officer. While serving as a patrol officer, Capt. Crawford was selected as Field Training Officer and a SWAT team member in 1999. Capt. Crawford also served as a primary investigator for traffic accidents involving serious injuries or fatalities. He was transferred to the Criminal Investigations Unit in 2005 as a detective for general investigations. He was honored as Officer of the Year by the Waycross Exchange and Public Safety Officer of the Year by the Georgia Elks Association in 2006 for his role during a collaborative effort in safely resolving a suicidal/barricaded gunman situation.

In December 2006, Capt. Crawford was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and he returned to patrol as a shift supervisor. Capt. Crawford was promoted to Lieutenant in May 2014 and remained in patrol as a unit supervisor. In March 2018, Capt. Crawford was transferred to the Training & Personnel Unit where he coordinated departmental training and facilitated the hiring of sworn and non-sworn agency personnel. Capt. Crawford was transferred in August 2019 to the Criminal Investigations Section and served as the section commander for general investigations and supervised one detective sergeant and 4 general detectives.

In March 2020, Capt. Crawford was assigned as the Administrative Services Section Commander. Capt. Crawford now oversees all the administrative operations of the department including the Personnel & Training Unit and the Support Services Unit. He is additionally responsible for the Evidence and Property Storage for the department and he has been assigned as the Internal Affairs Officer for the department.

In August 2020, Capt. Crawford was also appointed as the Accreditation Manager for the Department through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) which is a national organization for elite law enforcement agencies, and as the State Certification Manager through the Georgia Police Accreditation Coalition for the state of Georgia.

Since his time as a supervisor, Capt. Crawford has received certifications as a General Instructor, Speed Detection Instructor and Driving Instructor for our agency. He also attended and completed the Professional Management Program in association with Columbus State University in 2008. Capt. Crawford has accumulated more than 2,500 hours of mandated, basic, and advanced training during his career with the Waycross Police Department.

Capt. Gregory Young supervises the Criminal Investigations Section of the Waycross Police Department. Capt. Young started his career with the Waycross Police Department in 2005. Capt. Young started his career as a patrol officer where he also participated with the Bicycle Unit that was formed in 2006. When a position became available, Capt. Young transferred to Ware County High School as a School Resource Officer. During his time working with the youth, he gained his certification as a Gang Investigator. When the opportunity arose, he transferred back to the patrol unit to pursue his career further.

Young was promoted to Sergeant Relief Commander in May 2010. After quickly learning his duties, he was given the position of Watch Commander, which duties included supervising his own shift. Another opportunity for advancement became available and Capt. Young was promoted to the position of Lieutenant of Administration. While serving in this position Capt. Young supervised the support services section of the police department. These duties included but were not limited to overseeing day to day operations of the facility, acting as an Accreditation Officer for the department, and ensuring the Municipal Court proceedings were being performed in accordance with federal, state, and city statutes.

In November 2019, Chief Cox promoted Young to the rank of Captain, where he currently holds the position of Criminal Investigations Section Commander.

In 2011, Capt. Young was nominated by the Waycross Police Department for Public Safety Officer of the Year after receiving the Life Saver Award. In 2012, Capt. Young was presented with Public Safety Officer of the year by the Waycross Exchange Club.

Since being employed with the City of Waycross, he has earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Troy University (2011), a master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Troy University (2013), and a master’s degree in Public Safety Administration from Columbus State University (2013). Capt. Young is also a member of Class 50 of the Georgia Law Enforcement Command College, and the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police.

Capt. Young completed the Certified Examiners course in Truth Verification, and currently oversees two other certified examiners within the department. In November 2014, Capt. Young completed Hostage Negotiation training at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center. He currently serves as a member of the Waycross Police S.W.A.T. team member as a Hostage Negotiator and oversees the team of four hostage negotiators. Capt. Young also holds certification as a General Instructor. Currently Capt. Young has more than 2,300 training hours through the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council.

Lt. Zauner is a 2001 graduate of Pierce Country High School and has an associate degree in Criminal Justice along with a welding diploma from Okefenokee Technical College. Lt. Zauner was previously employed as a corrections officer at Ware State Prison for four years where he was on the prison tactical squad.

Lt. Zauner began his career with the Waycross Police Department in January 2007 as a uniform patrol officer. He was selected as a SWAT team member in July 2008. He was also selected to be a field-training officer and is responsible for helping to train many of the officers that are now under his command.

Lt. Zauner is a hazardous material emergency technician for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency’s All Hazard Area 8 CBRNE team and was a previous K-9 handler with the agency. Lt. Zauner was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in December 2015 and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in August 2017. Lt. Zauner has accumulated more than 2,800 hours of mandated, basic and advanced training with the Georgia Peace Officers Standards Training Council.

Lt. Lee started his career with the Waycross Police Department in 2014 where he served as a Uniform Patrol Officer.

In 2017, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant where he commanded a shift of Uniform Patrol Officers. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 2019 and assigned to the Training and Personnel section. Lt. Lee is a graduate of South University where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice.

He holds certifications as a Field Training Officer, General Instructor, Firearms Instructor, Radar and Lidar Speed Detection Instructor and Taser Instructor.

Lt. Charles Brown has been with the Waycross Police Department since 2011. Lt. Brown has had various assignments during that time, including Patrol Officer, Patrol Sergeant, and Internal Affairs Sergeant. He is currently the commander of the WPD Auxiliary. Lt. Brown is a certified General Instructor with the Waycross Police Department.

Lt. Brown holds an Associate of Science degree in Chemistry from South Georgia College, a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Valdosta State University.

Lt. Casey Caswell is a 1998 graduate of Ware County High School. Two weeks after graduation, Lt. Caswell attended Army basic training in Ft. Benning, Ga. He served for six years in the Georgia Army National Guard as an Infantryman. During this time, he attended Georgia Military College from 1998 to 2000. In the Georgia Army National Guard, he held the rank of Sergeant (E-5), and held many different positions such as a Bradley Fighting Vehicle driver, dismounted infantry grenadier, saw gunner, 240 gunner, and assistant fire team leader. He later became a gunner on the M2 Bradley, firing the 25MM Bushmaster chain gun. In 2001, he was deployed to Bosnia as part of the SFOR 9 peacekeeping mission in the region. In January 2002, he was hired on with the Waycross Police Department as a patrolman.

Lt. Caswell worked in the jail while waiting to go to the police academy at ABAC. During his career at the Waycross Police Department he served as a bike patrol officer. He was assigned to the Waycross Police Department S.W.A.T. team in 2003. On the S.W.A.T. team, Lt. Caswell has been trained as a chemical munition and a less-lethal instructor. Lt. Caswell has also been trained in explosive breaching.

In 2006, he was assigned to the Waycross Police Department Traffic Safety team where his duties were to enforce traffic laws and investigate accidents involving a fatality or serious injury. He also completed Drug Recognition Expert training. In 2009, Lt. Caswell was assigned as the S.W.A.T. sniper, and in 2010 completed hazmat technician training and assigned to the area eight CBRNE Response Team.

In May of 2014, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant with the Waycross Police Department. After promotion to Sergeant, Lt. Caswell worked as a relief commander on patrol and as the administrative Internal Affairs Sergeant. Lt. Caswell went back to patrol and worked as a shift supervisor after Lt. D. Carter retired. Lt. Caswell later filled in as a School Resource Officer at Waycross Middle School for the last two months of the 2018-2019 school year. Lt. Caswell was promoted to Lieutenant and assigned to patrol on September 11, 2019, as a watch commander.