We were discussing the kind of guy that responds to calls from WalMart and goes and writes up the "arrest" report on the shoplifter (often there's no true arrest made, just give the guy a ticket with the court date and location for his bulk appointment). Depending on where the incident took place the person in question could have the title "sheriff" or "deputy" or even "ranger", but in the end it's always going to be a cop on the beat. "Sheriffs" (by title) aren't always the top dog in charge, frequently county jurisdiction police forces refer to their officer as "sheriff" (like right here with the Pima County Sheriff's Office, all of whose cruisers bear the word "Sheriff" in big letters on the side). Trying to suddenly say you were talking about the top dogs only when the discussion was about responding officers to a WalMart shoplifting case is completely disingenuous.
I never changed my position in any post. In fact, I had the traditional sheriff in mind all the way through. You are the one who kept trying to shift away from the sheriff to a subordinate officer, or the member of a city or town police force.
In Fairfax County, VA, since we have an urban county, all the sheriff does is run the jail ~ and it's a big jail ~ don't forget that if you come around here trying to commit crimes ~ lots of room in there.
Anyway, there's only one sheriff here. His activities result in work being performed by the county attornies and by county judges. If he doesn't bring the prisoners to the court, nothing happens.
As a practical matter, though, in this county the Fairfax Police have more of the catch and keep action.