Photo by Leah Ingram Eagle
Shelby County Sheriff's Maj. Clay Hammac
Maj. Clay Hammac of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office recently completed the culmination of his narcotics enforcement career by graduating from the DEA’s Drug Unit Commander Academy.
He and 17 other commanders from across the country participated in the training.
The Drug Enforcement Administration created the Drug Unit Commander’s Academy for local, state and tribal law enforcement commanders who have at least five years of command in narcotics investigations and are respected among the federal law enforcement community. Based at the DEA Training Academy in Quantico, Virginia, commanders attend two weeks of training focused on executive leadership, strengthening community relationships and supporting employee wellness.
Each year, only one commander from each of the 23 DEA divisions across the nation is selected to attend. Hammac was selected from the four-state division consisting of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas.
Hammac began his law enforcement career at the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office in 2004 and took command of the multi-jurisdictional Drug Enforcement Task Force in 2015. In 2020, Hammac was promoted to Sheriff John Samaniego’s executive command staff, where he serves in a leadership oversight role of the Drug Enforcement Unit, in addition to patrol and criminal investigations.
This latest accomplishment adds to Hammac’s recent awards, which include completion of the FBI National Academy, a lifesaving medal, two meritorious awards, the Sheriff’s Award, Officer of the Year and FOP statewide Member of the Year. In 2018, Hammac was named one of the world’s Top 40 Under 40 Law Enforcement Leaders by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, from a candidate pool of more than 36,000 nominations.
Hammac said he is grateful and humbled to be included in the same category as some of the other men and women who were in his recent DUCA training session and grateful that the local DEA office nominated him to participate in the training.
— Submitted by the Shelby County Sheriff's Office
