Purvis hires new 4th police chief in 5 years

PURVIS, Miss. (AP) - The new police chief in Purvis says he will stop the revolving door for that job.

Joey Walker is the department’s fourth chief in five years.

He tells The Hattiesburg American (https://hatne.ws/1naMvHD ) he plans to be around a while.

He replaces Preston Burkhalter, who was named interim chief in February 2013.

Mayor Roger Harris says Burkhalter decided he wanted to go into another business.

Walker was an officer in the Purvis Police Department more than a decade ago. He went from there to the Lamar County Sheriff’s Department, and then became a road boss and safety officer for the Lamar County Board of Supervisors.

Harris says he ran into Walker and offered him the police chief’s job.

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Information from: The Hattiesburg American, https://www.hattiesburgamerican.com