Funny Sheriff story: In 1964, when I was 16, I had the Sheriff of James City County (just outside Williamsburg, VA) pull me over for speeding (5 miles over). He was driving an old beat up Volkswagen bus w/blue lights mounted down low where the were impossible to see in my rear view mirror by the time I noticed him ...no siren; so, while he had been honking his horn at me for over a mile; I honestly had no idea who he was; other than he appeared PO’ed and I was reluctant to stop as I was in the right lane and he had a passing lane; plus it was a relatively rural area. He finally pulled along side me and motioned me over. Once I pulled over he came up, pulled out his ID and very angrily announced who he was ...fortunately I kept my cool and politely explained I lived at the Naval Weapons Station at Yorktown; and I had no idea who he was and had never seen his private vehicle; nor had I ever met him before. After that, he slowly cooled down and let me go w/o a ticket. I kept a sharp eye out for that damned VW bus after that!
That is a downright humorous story - a sheriff relegated to a VW bus, that being his personal vehicle.
Good thing you kept your cool. At 16 I was driving a ‘73 Gremlin, and still woulda been snickering at that dude.
Effectively, yes.
As you note in VA, the Sheriff is ELECTED, and we have the same system in CA, and any qualified candidate may run for the office, LEO experience or training is not necessary or required.
In the November 2011 election, Mirkarimi, an ADA lawyer having never served or trained as a Law Enforcement Officer of any kind before the election, was elected to the office of Sheriff (by ranked choice voting).
He might claim that now, he is a LEO, and he has certainly ordered all his deputies to say that he is.