Chief Louis M. Dekmar’s 48-year law enforcement career began as a law enforcement specialist in the United States Air Force. He then served as a police officer and later detective in Wyoming before moving to Georgia in 1987 to serve in Macon and Perry. He has more than 30 years of experience as a police chief - in Morrow and, since 1995, as the Chief of the LaGrange, Georgia Police Department. As Chief of the LaGrange Police Department, he has instituted a mindset of policing as a service by focusing on Community & Problem-Oriented Policing (CPOP) concepts.

Chief Dekmar is also a former President of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). During his tenure, he called for police leadership across the U.S. to reconcile with minority communities and lead reforms for police handling of the mentally ill. He is also a former President and Chair of the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and a former President of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police (GACP).

In 2017, Chief Dekmar was the first Chief of Police in the South to apologize for his agency's role in a lynching; the lynching occurred outside LaGrange, killing Austin Callaway in 1940.

In 2021, he implemented the "Shoot to Incapacitate" policy at LaGrange PD. The policy trains LPD officers to shoot first for the legs, pelvis or abdomen - and not the chest, upper torso, or head - when confronted with a deadly threat. The policy seeks to reduce the fatalities from officer-involved shootings and is the first of its kind in the U.S.

As an internationally-recognized expert in policing, Chief Dekmar has presented on a range of topics to police leaders and elected officials throughout the world, including subjects like leadership, ethics, law enforcement management, and liability issues. He has provided numerous training programs to police chiefs, elected officials, and other law enforcement personnel in more than 20 states and several countries. In 2014, he addressed the United Nations Police (UNPOL) on the topic of international law enforcement standards

Chief Dekmar is also a former Council Member for the Georgia Peace Officer’s Standards and Council, serving on the Probable Cause Committee, as well as a past member of the Georgia Board of Public Safety, which provides policy oversight for the Georgia State Patrol, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the Georgia Public Safety Training Center. He has also served as a Federal Monitor for the US Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division.

He is a member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement, Executives, and FBINA (142nd). In 2004, he was selected as the delegation leader for the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE) program and is currently a Board Member for GILEE.

Chief Dekmar holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Justice from the University of Wyoming and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Georgia College and State University. He is also an adjunct professor for several colleges and institutions. He has received Honorary Doctorate Degrees from the Central Police University (Taiwan) and LaGrange College.

He has been awarded the First Annual Hope Givers’ Award; the National Council for Behavioral Health’s Visionary Leadership Award for an international initiative involving the police response to mental illness; National Constables and Marshals Association's “Service Above and Beyond” Award; the Anti-Defamation League’s Kay Family Award; the Elected Prosecutor’s “Headlight Award” for Racial Trust Building; the NOBLE’s Robert Lamb Humanitarian Award; the Troup County NAACP Leadership Award; the CALEA Egon Bittner Award; the Georgia Governor’s Award for Life-Time Achievement and Contribution to the Law Enforcement Profession; the LaGrange College Servant-Leadership Award; the Georgia Outstanding Police Chief of the Year; Police Officer of the Year Award; and the Police Valor Medal for Bravery.