InTucker Magazine

On the Beat with Lt. Schoeppner

Lt. D.G. Schoeppner is Tucker’s liaison to the DeKalb County Police Department and can be followed at facebook.com/dgschoeppner or emailed at dgschoeppner@dekalbcountyga.gov.

As we emerge from lockdown, I figure the best way to return to normalcy is to write the article that I intended before this whole thing started. As we’ve seen several times before, people move around in the police department. The most recent of these changes occurred in February when our assistant precinct commander, Captain Popp, was transferred to East Precinct. In his place we welcome Captain Wallace from Center Precinct. Since he was at Center when it still patrolled a portion of the City, he is already familiar with the area and stepped into his new role without missing a beat.

Captain Wallace started his law enforcement career in 2003. After graduating the police academy, he was assigned to South Precinct where he worked the third shift. In 2007 he was transferred to the Major Felony Unit where he and I worked as detectives together. This was in the middle of three consecutive record setting years for homicides and robberies for DeKalb County. In 2011 Captain Wallace transferred to Internal Affairs, where he worked as a detective until being promoted to sergeant later that year. As a sergeant, he was transferred to North Precinct where he and I worked together once again. From North Precinct Captain Wallace was moved to headquarters and held the title of Deputy Chief of Staff. In 2016 he was promoted to lieutenant and transferred to South Precinct where we worked together for a third time. After a short stint there he was transferred again to Internal Affairs, this time as the commander of the unit, until he was promoted to captain just last year. There he was the assistant precinct commander until his move here with the same title.

During his police career Captain Wallace has earned his criminal justice degree from Georgia State University and has also completed his master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Waldorf University. Most recently he has attended the Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville in 2017.

Captain Wallace has packed a lot of experience into his 17-year career. Along with his wealth of police experience he is also intimately familiar with the inner working of the police department. This knowledge is invaluable in knowing how to get things done. The DeKalb County Police Department is lucky to have officers like Captain Wallace and I am glad to be able to call him my friend. I think that the citizens of Tucker can be glad that they have such a dedicated and experienced officer to help steer the ship through these uncertain and scary times.