Former Assistant Police Chief David McDavid, who resigned from the Zachary Police Department this past summer to run for the position of Police Chief in a special election on Oct. 22, has won the race with 57 percent of the votes.

McDavid defeated David Courtney, who was named Chief of Police July 18, when the seat was left vacant by the death of the Chief John Herty.

McDavid was with the Zachary Police Department for 27 years before resigning July 13. During his tenure at the Police Department, McDavid oversaw the detectives division, the K-9 division, the traffic division and the communications division. As head of the detectives division, he made hundreds of felony drug arrests and coordinated undercover drug operations in the Zachary area.

Before becoming a full-time officer, McDavid was a reserve officer and a volunteer firefighter for the City of Zachary. He graduated from the LSU Basic Training Academy shortly after becoming a full-time officer with the Zachary Police Department. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the DEA Drug Commander School.

A Zachary resident since 1969, McDavid graduated from Zachary High School in 1983 and attended Southern University’s Baton Rouge campus. He is actively involved with the Zachary community school system and has mentored high school students for over 20 years, He is also a member of the ZHS Hall of Fame Committee and a member of First Baptist Church of Zachary.

McDavid has coached numerous youth baseball, basketball and softball teams in the Zachary community over the past 25 years. He routinely volunteers for both the Senior Olympics and the Special Olympics.

He has three children: David “Ricky” McDavid, Jr., 28; Brad McDavid, 25; and Ashley McDavid, 20; and one grandchild, Trae McDavid, 4. He is married to Sherry Jarreau McDavid who is also a graduate of Zachary High School.

"My primary goal as Chief of Police is to make Zachary the safest community to raise a family and to operate a business," McDavid said. "As Chief, we will address the current traffic issues while preparing for the future growth of our community, continue the fight to keep drugs out of Zachary and implement community policing. We will also employ the highest professional standards in law enforcement within the Zachary Police Department by working diligently to equip and assist our officers with the tools necessary to perform their duties."