When Sheriff Ed Robb, soon to be 70, announced February 12 he wouldn’t run for re-election for Albemarle County sheriff, he said, “I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to my God, my wife, my family and my country.”
Aside from his talent for speech-ery, Robb has racked up quite the distinguished career in law enforcement.
 Sheriff Ed Robb announced he won’t run for re-election. I say, I say, we sure gonna miss that son-of-a-gun. |
The former State inspector general, one-time Virginia State senator and Albemarle sheriff (since 2000) was an FBI agent who, in the 1980s, posed as a mob boss in a Florida Mafia bust. Check out the Albemarle Sheriff’s Office website (www.albso.org) for a history of Robb’s time as “Tony Rossi,” complete with a really old photo of Robb in tough-guy sunglasses.
While Sheriff, Robb tackled less glamorous endeavors, like the “Crime Prevention Through Education” program and establishing a search and rescue team. The Project Lifesaver program tags old people or kids likely to get lost; the department saved three people in 2006, Robb said.
Not the least of his distinctions, Robb was thrice honored with a C-VILLE year-end “Cheap Shot.”
In 2003, former News Editor John Borgmeyer lauded Robb for “creative use of ‘a black guy’” in a shooting incident. That year Robb’s deputy, Steve Shiflett, who had a history of violent behavior as a Louisa County deputy, showed up with .38 caliber rounds in his patrol car and a bullet hole in his hat. The white deputy claimed that a black man had shot him near Berkmar Drive. Robb was quick to decry the incident a “hate crime.” Shiflett resigned a month later when an investigation showed he’d made up the story. Robb defended his hiring of Shiflett, but later apologized to the African-American community and called the incident a “disgusting thing.”
In 2004, Robb again made headlines, this time for “creative use of geology in the fight against terror.” Robb announced that year that though sheriffs’ typical duties include running the courts, serving papers and transporting prisoners, his force would spend the bulk of their time on “domestic surveillance” in the War on Terror. To protect the safety of this vulnerable and historic area, Robb had large boulders placed outside the Albemarle County Office Building to deter potential car bombs, presumably from Islamic extremists. The boulders helped Albemarle County’s office staff weather the threatened onslaught of roadside explosions until more attractive planters could be placed.
And, in 2005, C-VILLE gave Robb the “Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement.” That year, he wanted to spend $60,000 to cover the jail in fencing and camouflage jersey to protect it from the terror threat.
Apparently miffed at our coverage of these events, Robb put a moratorium on all C-VILLE communication. Memorable quotes from this period in Robb history include: “I don’t do interviews with you. You can quote that,” (August 2004) and, “This office does not conduct interviews with the C-VILLE Weekly” (July 2006).
Despite the rough patches, we’ll sure miss Robb’s Southern-fried eloquence and his ceaseless commitment to protecting us from terror, providing stories that practically write themselves.
Robb has not specified his next endeavor, saying only he has “a new mountain to climb.”
Charlottesville Police Captain J.E. “Chip” Harding has announced he will seek the Republican nomination for sheriff, and former independent Larry Claytor is running as a Democrat.
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