Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office: Meet Sheriff Ted Sexton

Sheriff Edmund M. “Ted” Sexton

Sheriff Edmund M. “Ted” Sexton, Sr. has been a law enforcement officer for more than 30 years, serving his fifth term as the elected Sheriff of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. Sexton returned to Tuscaloosa October 1, 2009 to resume the duties of the office of Sheriff after being appointed by Secretary Michael Chertoff on January 20, 2008, as the first Assistant Secretary for State and Local Law Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Serving in two presidential administrations. The Assistant Secretary’s responsibilities included leading the coordination of department-wide policies relating to State and local law enforcement’s role in preventing acts of terrorism and serving as the primary liaison between law enforcement agencies across the country and the Department. He received the Secretary’s award for Exceptional Service.

Elected as President of the National Sheriffs’ Association in 2005-2006, Sheriff Sexton is recognized as a progressive, goal-oriented law enforcement administrator among his peers in Alabama and the region and was selected the Nation’s Outstanding Sheriff of the Year for 2007 by the National Sheriffs’ Association.

Serving as Sheriff, Sexton manages a Sheriff’s Office that has seen deputy activity increase by over 551%, the jail population by over 500%, and the population of the county by 19% (according to FBI statistics), while maintaining clearance rates above the national average. For nearly three decades, Sheriff Sexton has worked aggressively to bring the highest level of education, training, and professionalism not only to those directly under his command, but also to law enforcement officials throughout the area.

Sheriff Sexton leads a force of over 200 employees and administers a budget of over $15 million. His jurisdiction includes 1,327 square miles and the operation of a 580-bed jail facility which is one of a 125 out of 3000 jails in the nation to meet national accreditation standards. Appointed point of contact for Homeland Security in Tuscaloosa County, he obtained $4,500,000 in equipment and technologies for Tuscaloosa County and served on the Alabama Homeland Security Director’s Law Enforcement Advisory Committee. Sexton served as the chair of the Alabama Mutual Aid Task Force for three years during its formation and is a sitting Commissioner with the Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission. The Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office is the primary agency for the State of Alabama Region 3 Law Enforcement Mutual Aid Response Team, which has responded to five hurricanes and numerous other incidents since its inception.

Sheriff Sexton received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Alabama. He has also attended numerous seminars and specialty training schools, including the F.B.I. National Academy, Homeland Security Executive Leadership Conducted by the Naval Post Graduate School, Senior Executives in State and Local Government and The National Leadership Preparedness, Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government, the National Sheriffs’ Institute, the University of Alabama Law Enforcement Academy. Sexton has also attended terrorism seminars in England, Israel and Pakistan.

The Sheriff holds numerous law enforcement credentials including NRA Firearms instructor, Adjunct instructor Tuscaloosa Law Enforcement Academy, Instructor’s Certification from Landespolizeischula fur Diensthundfuher Nord Rhien Westfalia Germany, and is also a commercial instrument multi-engine rotorcraft licensed pilot.