Berry to seek third term as sheriff
Berry has been in law enforcement for over 30 years in Charles
Current Charles County Sheriff Troy Berry (D) has decided to seek a third term as sheriff.
Berry, a 30-year vet with Charles County Sheriff’s Office who filed for reelection on Nov. 23 last fall, said he still has something to offer community members.
“When I ran in 2014 I was concerned about a number of things that were going on in law enforcement, harkening back to community policing and relationships, the lack of technology the sheriff’s office had and community engagement,” Berry, 52, said.
“Over my two terms I believe we’ve made significant enhancements in those areas,” he added.
During his first term, Berry established an annual prayer breakfast with faith-based organizations and created a drone program to enhance the search and rescue capabilities of the sheriff’s office.
During his second term, Berry purchased National Integrated Ballistic Information Network technology to combat a forecasted increase in handgun violence brought by the pandemic.
Berry said the technology led to the creation of a designated handgun unit to track crimes using such firearms.
According to
Berry, the establishment of the handgun unit and partnerships with federal agencies drove down violent crime 61% in 2021.
Berry also said the agency is looking to capitalize on efforts to increase diversity in the department, which has seen an increase in both overall diversity and minority participation.
“I believe that if you recruit properly, you train properly and create an open atmosphere for equal competition, those individuals will rise over time as they have to take those particular ranks,” he said.
Berry said he is committed to creating an agency that looks like the community it polices.
Currently, one challenger has announced a bid for the Charles sheriff’s office. Derek L. Larsen, a former Washington, D.C., metropolitan police captain, filed on Aug. 18 last year as a Democratto run in this year’s election.