He always wanted to be a policeman, and, after a 45-year career in law enforcement, V. Stuart Cook has decided it’s time to retire.

For 20 years, he has been Hanover County’s No. 1 law enforcement officer as sheriff. On Oct. 1, Lt. Col. David R. Hines will step into that position.

“My last working day will be Sept. 15,” Cook said last Tuesday in an exclusive interview with The Mechanicsville Local. He officially leaves office on Oct. 1.

A strong and confident man, Cook has a presence when he enters a room. He is the epitome of a sheriff.

“I have had a great career,” he said while seated in one of the conference rooms in the Vaughan-Bradley Public Safety Building on the grounds of the Hanover County Government Complex. “I have been blessed in my 45 years.”

Pursuing a career in law enforcement had been a dream since “I was a little boy,” Cook said. “I had always looked up to police officers.” He fondly recalled the influences of TV with programs such as “Dragnet” and Westerns.

Cook was working for the Richmond Police Department when Hanover County Circuit Judge Richard H.C. Taylor “came to see me,” asking him to consider the position. Due to illness, Harold E. Bradley had announced his retirement as sheriff.

“I initially declined to accept the appointment,” Cook said. “I had been in law enforcement for 25 years and had never liked the fact that you had to run for election. I don’t consider myself a politician, nor do I feel like law enforcement and politics really mix.”

“I turned it down,” he said of Taylor’s offer, “and he asked me to think about it some more before I gave him a final answer. That was right before the July 4th holiday.”

Realizing his chances of becoming chief of police in Richmond were “slim and none,” Cook said when the judge contacted him again, “We discussed it further and I agreed to try — I knew I could apply for another chief’s job.” He accepted and was sworn in as Hanover County’s sheriff on Aug. 2, 1990.

His family is deeply rooted in Hanover County and he “wasn’t anxious to think about moving.”

“Since that time, having served in Richmond for 25 years, 12 of which as a deputy chief, I’ve come to realize there’s more politics in being a chief of police.”
That position, Cook said, involves reporting to a city manager and can lead to a police chief being told “what he’s going to do, where he’s going to do it, who he can investigate, who he can’t. I can assure you that doesn’t take place with me nor should it take place with any law enforcement.”

His years in Hanover County have been interference-free. He said he was aware of a couple of instances where a county administrator or a member of the Board of Supervisors “had tried to influence decisions. That’s never happened [here] nor should it ever happen.”

From the time he took the helm of the Sheriff’s Office, Cook said his priority has been to “serve the people of this county. Supervisors are elected for a specific district, I’m elected countywide.”

Cook praises former Richmond Police Chief Frank Duling, “who was a staunch disciplinarian and a very autocratic leader. He came up in an era where that was a necessity because of the organization’s history. I learned a great deal of what to do and what not to do under his leadership. The experiences that I got with the city greatly aided when I came here.”

His years in Richmond afforded him the opportunity to play an active role in notable cases, including the investigation of the Briley brothers, convicted in a 1979 killing spree; overseeing the investigation and arrest of Timothy Spencer, the first DNA case in Virginia; and the Black Ninja, a rapist arrested in the Fan District. He served as deputy chief of investigative operations “for probably 10 of the 12 years that I was a deputy chief.”

“And, of course, there was the time when Richmond experienced its highest homicide rate, so I was able to learn a great deal and experience a great deal in law enforcement that I probably never would have had I started out with a small law enforcement agency,” the sheriff added.

After working with a department of 600 and directly supervising about 200, he became responsible for a 50-man Sheriff’s Office when he arrived in Hanover. The early days saw Cook and his department sometimes turning to other agencies for assistance, while “we’re pretty much self-sufficient [now]. We are in a position that we can help the smaller jurisdictions, New Kent, Louisa, Goochland, King William, and we readily share those resources when called upon.”

“I took over a good law enforcement agency,” Cook said, “and, with the help of the nucleus of good people, made it into an outstanding law enforcement agency. We have one of the most professional, well respected, efficient and proficient law enforcement agencies in the entire state. We’re one of the very few Sheriff’s Offices, in fact we are the only Sheriff’s Office in Virginia with law enforcement responsibilities that are both internationally and state accredited.”

Proudly, he said “We haven’t lowered our standards at all since I came here — still the same as in 1990. Today we have the highest standards in the entire metropolitan area as far as recruitment. We have not changed our standards, but other jurisdictions have lowered theirs.”

Looking back on his years in Hanover, Cook said he retires knowing the department is a shining example of law enforcement in the 21st century. The international and state accreditations are among his most valued accomplishments. He said the Sheriff’s Office has established itself as “a well respected and standalone organization as far as being self sufficient.”

Also noteworthy during his tenure are the forensics unit, SWAT team, hostage negotiation team, dive team, K-9 unit, and accident reconstruction unit.
As the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office has grown and established itself as a leader in the region, Cook said they are often “called upon by our sister agencies throughout the metro area for assistance.” By the same token, “We call upon them for assistance and it works both ways. There’s no hesitation to call upon us and vice versa.”

In addition to being involved in high profile cases in Richmond, Cook found himself in the spotlight in Hanover County too. Most notably is the Beltway Sniper case, which found John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo striking in Ashland on Oct. 19, 2002. A Melbourne, Fla., man was shot as he and his wife left the Ponderosa.

That case, Cook said, “is certainly something that no one in this organization ever wanted to be involved in, but, I guess the professional thing that came out of this, we, the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, called a meeting with Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield and Virginia State Police and started planning for the what-if situation — I guess within three weeks before the sniper actually struck in Ashland. We had a plan together as to how we would handle it — hoping it would never happen, but it did — and we put that plan into action and dealt with it in a most highly proficient and professional manner.”

His officers collected critical evidence that was “ultimately used in the prosecution” of Muhammad and Malvo. “Our forensics people, our patrol officers sealed off the scene, collected evidence and then handed it off to the proper authorities.” With pride, he said, “There was no question of the preservation of that evidence, which also led to the conviction.”

He talked at length about the sniper case two weeks after Muhammad was executed. That article can be found at
http://www.mechlocal.com/index.php/news/article/sheriff_worst_scenario_came_true/.

Under his leadership, the Sheriff’s Office has implemented the Adopt-a-Senior program, one he is “really pleased about. That truly has been a blessing to many of our senior citizens who have lost a loved one and live alone.” He calls the program a highlight in his years as sheriff and one “I’m the most proud of.”
“There are two groups of people that I think law enforcement should be really concerned about and that’s our youth and our seniors,” he said.

He also started the Citizens Police Academy, the Seniors Academy and the Youth Academy.

As his retirement looms, Cook considers those officers who he believes deserve to rise in the ranks. “If I stay too much longer, I will have precluded Dave Hines and other members of this department to move up and to have their opportunity to run this organization.”

According to Cook, Hines is the choice as “State law mandates the No. 2 man, which is Dave Hines, will be appointed sheriff.” The term runs through 2011, at which time Hines could be a candidate on the ballot.

“I’ve been very fortunate in that he’s been a supporter and an excellent lieutenant colonel,” Cook said of Hines.

“We have a great staff,” Cook said. “One of the things that we tell every person when they come here, this is like a big family. We thoroughly screen every person that we bring here, and, like a big family, there will be times when you might not agree. We do look out for each other. We try to assign our people where they’re best suited.” He said they will work to help accommodate scheduling based on family needs.

“We do believe and practice a philosophy that our employees are our best asset. We treat our people like we want them to treat the public that we serve,” the sheriff said.

With a smile, he said he worries about how he will handle retirement. At the age of 12, “I got my first paper route and worked before that cutting grass for neighbors. I’ve had a steady paying job since I was 12 years old.”

“It’s a certainly a big change in one’s life when you retire,” Cook said. “A lot of people can’t wait for the last day to get there — that’s not me. I don’t think I’ve ever been any more concerned about any decision I’ve ever made. I truly love my job and the people, the community. I truly do enjoy serving the public and being out there sharing their concerns and trying to keep us a safe community.”

The decision to retire, he said, came “for a number of reasons. I truly believe that some people don’t like to see people be so successful for so long, and I’ve seen a number of instances of that. I’ve enjoyed many successes in law enforcement and would like to go out with my reputation intact.”

“Law enforcement, particularly law enforcement in Hanover County,” Cook said, “is one of the last bastions of maintaining its integrity and its qualifications and standards. We have not lowered our standards and will not lower them. I have not lowered them in my 20 years and I am confident Dave Hines will not lower them during his tenure.”

The Sheriff’s Office, he said, interviews every candidate. “That is the key ingredient: The people that you hire. We have practiced that philosophy. We will leave a position vacant before we hire an inferior product. That’s the thing the people in Hanover County can take comfort in.”

Cook said he and his staff “deal with them (the citizens) in a fair and professional manner, with dignity and respect, until they demand otherwise.”

In retirement, he looks forward to the activities of his Masonic Lodge and Richmond Scottish Rite. He also has plans to go bass fishing and relic hunting and play golf.

On June 21, 1965, V. Stuart Cook reached his goal of becoming a police officer; 45 years later, he can walk away knowing he fulfilled his own destiny.

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Cook’s biography can be found at http://www.mechlocal.com/index.php/news/article/what_do_top_earners_bring/.