Liberty Alumni Don Sloan runs uncontested for chief sheriff of Lynchburg Sheriff’s Office

• Don Sloan’s positive view of law enforcement as a child encouraged him to work at what is now Liberty University Police Department and the Lynchburg Sheriff’s Office.
• As sheriff, Sloan hopes to teach children to respect and appreciate law enforcement from a young age.

Lynchburg has a new sheriff in town as Don Sloan is campaigning to win the title, uncontested, in the upcoming Nov. 7 elections.

Sloan, who had served as the chief deputy under Ron Gillispie, beat out Sgt. John Romano in the Republican primaries in June, all but guaranteeing him the position, as no Democratic candidate campaigned.

The Lynchburg Sheriff’s Office is responsible for courthouse and courtroom security, civil processes and prisoner transportation. The sheriff and deputy have the authority of law enforcement, but different responsibilities.

Sloan has a long history with the Lynchburg community.

When Don Sloan was growing up in Oregon, the Sloan family saw Jerry Falwell on the Old Time Gospel Hour on television, and, with a recommendation from a close friend, Don ended up coming to Lynchburg and then-titled Liberty Baptist College with his twin brother Ron in 1978.

“I knew I wanted to go to a Christian college, and we had seen Dr. Falwell on TV,” Sloan said.

Arriving in 1978, the Sloan twins have been in Lynchburg for the majority of their lives.

“This coming January, we would have flown in 40 years ago,” Ron Sloan said. “We have seen this school go from absolutely nothing.”

When Don Sloan came to Liberty, he needed a job to help him though school. He always had an attraction to law enforcement and public service, having positive interactions and experiences with them growing up.

“They always treated others and myself nicely,” Don Sloan said. “They were people I looked up to.”

The Sloan brothers started working for the emergency services department in October 1979, which later became the Liberty University Police Department.

“I spent the next 22 years working for Liberty, working my way up the ranks, with the last four years being chief of police,” Don Sloan said.

Sloan earned a religion degree in 1982, a master’s in counseling in 1987 and a master’s of divinity in 1990, all from Liberty.

While Don Sloan was chief, he hired Gillispie, a seasoned officer who spent 27 years in the Lynchburg Police Department, to head up investigations for him. Gillispie ran for sheriff, won and asked Don Sloan to be his chief deputy.

“That was a hard decision,” Don Sloan said. “I had been at Liberty for 22 years, and I was the chief of the department, and I had been working with (Falwell) for years. I was at the top of my game at Liberty and in my career, so I wasn’t looking to leave. It was one of those things where an opportunity came out of nowhere.”

Don Sloan sought counsel and acted by faith and took the position in 2002, spending the next 15 years as chief deputy.

Gillispie abruptly retired March 31, as he was planning on leaving the office at the end of his term, Dec. 31, and his father’s health had taken a turn for the worse. Being chief deputy, Don Sloan was then immediately sworn in as Sheriff.

This caused controversy with the Romano campaign, as there were accusations of the elections being unfair because Sloan was simultaneously holding and running for office.

“If you look across Virginia, that happens all the time,” Sloan said. “The sheriff can go out of the office for a lot of reasons. He could die, so there has to be some mechanism in place for his replacement due to whatever. If I had not run, I would have still been the acting sheriff until the election was over.”

Don Sloan’s campaign manager and sheriff’s office deputy Todd Hunley said the campaign Romano ran did not appeal to the small community of Lynchburg.

“Don chose to run a very positive and uplifting campaign throughout the whole process,” Hunley said. “I think Mr. Romano ran a very aggressive campaign, and, for the most part, I don’t think aggressive and harsh campaigns tend to fare well with the community, especially a small community.”

Don Sloan won the Republican primary June 13 and is currently the only candidate on the ballot for Nov. 7.

“Sometimes my wife and I talk about it, and it’s hard for me to believe that I’m the sheriff of Lynchburg because I didn’t set out when I came to Liberty to be the sheriff of Lynchburg,” Sloan said.

As sheriff, Sloan is looking to improve the Sheriff’s Office relationship with the Lynchburg community, especially with the young generation.

“I know what we see on the news, and with the negative image law enforcement has within the public, whether deserved or not, there is definitely some concern,” Sloan said. “So I know if we’re going to affect the next generation, we need to do so as early as possible. I know for me when I was in grade school the positive impacts I had with the fire department, police and sheriff’s office made an impact on me. A positive impact.”

One of the programs Sloan is implementing is called First Step. The program’s goal is to have a positive effect on the upcoming generation while they are young.

“The deputies visit elementary school in their service area, providing a positive experience with them for the children and a certain sense of security for the staff and parents,” Sloan said.

According Hunley, the program is having a positive effect.

“I had a little girl just two days ago in one of the elementary schools run up to me and hugged me and said ‘Thank you for protecting us,’” Hunley said.

The office also has agreed to start teaching the Eddie the Eagle firearm program, teaching children about gun safety.

Another program being continued is We Share Because We Care. The program brings the local community and sheriff’s office together as they coordinate meals for those in need. Last Christmas, the program fed 12 families, approximately 50 people with the assistance of Robin Alexander’s Bistro and Sodexo.

This year, the office is planning on donating food for Thanksgiving. Sodexo has agreed to donate turkeys and Robin Alexander’s Bistro has again volunteered to prep the food for the program this year.

“It looks like we’re going to be able to (feed) 20 families, or 100 people,” Sloan said. “I know last year when we were delivering turkeys, (we had) our deputies in uniform, a patrol car pulls up and they’re not dropping a summons, they’re not there to arrest anyone, they’re carrying a turkey dinner for them to have at Christmas time. That definitely changed some perceptions.”

Despite being smaller than the Lynchburg Police Department, Sloan wants the community to be able to depend on the Sheriff’s Office.

“I just want people to know the Lynchburg Sheriff’s Office is here, and we’re their Sheriff’s Office and we’re here to make a difference,” Sloan said. “We might not be able to do big things, but we might be able to do little things in a big way.”

Currently, the only way someone could contest Sloan is through write-ins, but that is unlikely with little over a month until election day, all but assuring him of the position.

“I love Lynchburg, I love this area and I’m going to do everything I can to help make it the safest and greatest place for us to live work and play,” Sloan said.