Date Posted: October 24, 2023
During a recent ceremony, Lemuel Mercado was officially sworn in by Superior Court Judge Ben Coker as Southern Crescent Technical College’s Chief of Campus Safety and Security. Chief Mercado’s law enforcement career spans three decades and includes work with Florida’s Polk County Sheriff’s Office and locally with the Griffin Police Department.
For the past 15 years, Chief Mercado has been employed by Southern Crescent Technical College teaching Criminal Justice courses and most recently serving as the Dean of Public Safety, Industrial, and Film Technologies. Throughout his tenure at SCTC, he has maintained his P.O.S.T. certification and assisted SCTC’s Police Department with various activities. During his active law enforcement career, he served as a detention deputy, juvenile boot camp drill instructor, shift sergeant and supervisor of the Uniform Patrol Division, Crimes Against Property Investigator in the Criminal Investigation Unit, and as the lieutenant over the Juvenile Division. Chief Mercado spent the majority of his law enforcement career as a supervising officer. His previous experience also includes serving as a sergeant in the United States Army in Central America and Colorado.
Southern Crescent Technical College operates a state-accredited independent law enforcement agency which offers the highest degree of safety and security for students, faculty, staff, and visitors. The SCTC Police Department, led by the Chief of Campus Safety and Security, provides basic patrol functions and has all powers which are afforded to law enforcement agencies of the state of Georgia. All officers that work for SCTC are P.O.S.T. certified with state granted powers of arrest and have authorized jurisdiction to enforce the laws of the state of Georgia. All officers are sworn to defend the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Georgia, and the laws and ordinances of the jurisdiction.
Chief Mercado is a graduate of Mercer University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and Columbus State University with a Master’s Degree in Public Administration. Additionally, Chief Mercado also graduated from the Georgia Chief of Police Association Command College and Professional Management Programs.
Chief Mercado is married to Karen Mercado, his wife of 27 years. They have one child together.