PRINCETON, W. Va. -Following the recent election, the position of Mercer County Sheriff is set to be filled by Chief Alan Christian. Christian is no stranger to law enforcement experience or Mercer County and even got trained under current Sheriff Tommy Bailey’s leadership.
“You know, I came from the West Virginia State Police and two days after I retired, Tommy called me and had me come on as the chief deputy because I’ve always wanted to run for sheriff. That has been my aspiration from early on. I seen the opportunity and I took it. There’s nothing like training for your position before you take over…” says Chief Deputy Alan Christian.
Following Chief Deputy Christian’s departure from the position, Chief Deputy will be filled by another experienced Mercer County Sheriff’s Department officer, Captain Jesse J. Ruble, who says moving into this role will allow him to better help the new sheriff, those he’s working with, and newcomers to the department.
Captain Ruble says he’s worked with the future sheriff throughout his career, both in the sheriff’s department and with the state police and says having the two positions filled by those already working for the department allows for a seamless transition of power.
“For the most part, it seems like, you know, all the guys are really excited to… get this started and to move forward with the ideas that we’ve… got in mind for the department,” says Capt. Ruble.
Chief Christian says, as the new sheriff, the most important plan he has for the department will be more training to keep up with the ever-evolving criminal world.
“A lot of times in the past we get guys that are elected in a sheriff who don’t have a whole lot of experience. So, there’s a transition period, you know, a downtime, if you will. There’ll be no downtime here at all. We’re going to keep running on all cylinders…” says Chief Christian.
Incoming Sheriff Christian and Incoming Chief Ruble both encourage the Mercer County residents to reach out to them about problems in the community or other issues they may have.
Both Chief Alan Christian and Captain Jesse J. Ruble will move into their new positions on January first, with Chief Christian saying they are looking forward to starting.
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