Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 28, 1995 TAG: 9501300048
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Mike Brown opened his candidacy for Bedford County sheriff on Thursday saying that, if elected, he'll take Bedford County back to the Dark Ages.
Sort of.
Brown, a law-enforcement consultant who has worked for the Justice Department and the CIA, formally announced on the steps of the Bedford County Courthouse that he is seeking the Republican nomination for sheriff. His top priority as sheriff, he said, would be to increase the size and presence of law enforcement in the county.
Toward that goal, he supports forming a sheriff's ``posse'' - a group of citizen volunteers who would patrol Bedford County, looking for suspicious people and crimes in progress.
The idea, he explained, comes from England before the Norman conquest, when local residents supervised by a constable would band together to keep the peace.
``If elected to the position of sheriff of Bedford County, I propose to take the department not forward, but back in time hundreds of years. Now how many candidates have ever been elected on that platform?
``We're finding out conventional police methods aren't working. Some people may say I'm a vigilante. They may say, `You can't do that.'''
``Well, you can do it - it's working all over the country at other law enforcement agencies.''
The posse, as he envisions it, would not consist of sworn-in peace officers but instead would be made up of citizen volunteers who would be trained in law enforcement and supervised by deputies.
Dressed in uniforms different from those of sheriff's deputies, posse members would patrol Bedford County in their own vehicles. They would not make arrests or assist in physically apprehending suspects.
Brown said he also would seek federal and county money to add more deputies. Unlike surrounding counties such as Franklin and Botetourt, Bedford County does not appropriate any funds for extra deputies.
Brown's platform also includes some 1990s ideas - including a Total Quality Management approach to running the sheriff's office and specialized training for deputies.
He's so sure of the idea, he's willing to bank his paycheck on it. Brown pledged that as sheriff, he would donate $1,500 of his personal money each year to an educational fund that would send deputies to the FBI National Academy in Quantico and other facilities where they could get intensive law-enforcement training.
``I see the sheriff as an administrator, a coach, a facilitator,'' Brown said, adding that he doesn't plan to cut any jobs or fire any employees, but workers would be evaluated and could be moved into jobs that better suit their qualifications, he said.
Brown, who said he recently moved from Botetourt County to the Montvale area of Bedford County, has taken some heat from opponents who point out that he hasn't lived in Bedford for almost 30 years.
Election law requires only that a candidate live in the area for a short period before applying to run for office.
``I'm an outsider who's been living approximately 3,000 yards into Botetourt County,'' he said. ``That's how much of an outsider I am. I have kept up with Bedford County. I know law enforcement in Bedford County.
``The problems that Bedford County citizens have are the same as the problems citizens have in West Virginia, California and Tennessee - crime is crime. I've been trained and schooled in crime prevention, and I've done police work for 30 years. I don't think it makes a difference.''
Brown is the second candidate to enter the race.
Doug Maynard, an investigator in the Roanoke Public Defender's Office, was the first to formally announce. He's running as an independent.
Incumbent Sheriff Carl Wells has yet to say whether he will run, but there are several other candidates waiting in the wings, including Capt. Ronnie Laughlin of the Bedford County Sheriff's Office and Virginia State Police Special Agent Tony Mayhew.
County Republicans will hold a meeting to decide on a nominee in May.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB