Gerald Hayes stated that as a teenager he used to haul hay for Mack Parkes. In August 1987 he began his law enforcement career at Louisville Police Department where Parkes served as Chief of Police. After 33 years, Hayes’ career in police work came to a close with his retirement which became official on June 4. One of the highlights of his career is the creation of the D.A.R.E. program in 1990, as then- Mayor Bobby Clark wanted to do something to connect with young people in the schools. Hayes stated that the late W.A. ‘Bill’ Taylor encouraged him to attend Pro-Miss, at Mississippi State University which focused on promoting the state on economic and social levels. This led to the formation of the Winston County D.A.R.E. Advisory Council which was chaired by Taylor’s daughter, Teresa, and consisted of leaders from the business, political and educational spheres. Mississippi State University became the sponsor of the D.A.R.E. program and was only one of three universities in the nation, at that time, to do so. In 1995, the D.A.R.E. Training Center was formed at Lake Tiak O’Khata and trained over 500 D.A.R.E. officers over the years. His involvement in D.A.R.E., from 1990-2004, afforded him the opportunity to travel throughout the country, and he is thankful for the local officials who believed in and supported the work they were doing. In 2004, interim Police Chief L.G. Estes promoted him to Investigator, a position he held until 2014, and during that time the department solved more than 80% of property crimes. Hayes retired from Louisville PD in 2014, and worked for several other agencies before returning to LPD, in 2017, under Chief of Police L.M. Claiborne, at the rank of Sergeant. In 2019, Police Chief Sean Holdiness promoted him to the rank of Captain. Hayes said there is a whole new breed of police officer today, but he had a great career and is very appreciative of the respect he gets at home for the work that he has done, and after 33 years of service it is time to step aside.
