On February 22, 2018, the St.
Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office honored Sheriff Joseph Lee Somerville Sr., who
was the first African-American to be elected Sheriff in the state of Maryland.
The event was held at the Elks Lodge, in California, Maryland, and
presentations were made by the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP), Fraternal Order of Police (FOP #7), and the St. Mary’s County
Historical Society, and a special presentation was made by Special Agent in
Charge (SAC) Gordon Johnson, from the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Baltimore
Division. The event was co-hosted by the
United Committee for Afro-American Contributions (UCAC), the NAACP, and Sheriff
Tim Cameron; keynote speaker for the event was Charles County Sheriff Troy
Berry.
Sheriff Somerville began his
career as a Deputy Sheriff with the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office in
1966. By 1976, Sheriff Somerville had
earned the rank of Lieutenant. In March
of 1977, Sheriff Somerville was appointed Sheriff to finish out the term of
Sheriff George Sanger, who died during his term. At the time of his appointment, there were
five African-Americans holding the position of Sheriff in the United
States. Sheriff Somerville finished out
the remainder of the term, and in 1978 launched a vigorous election campaign; much
of his campaign platform focused on leadership, experience, and integrity.
Sheriff Somerville was successful in his campaign and was elected Sheriff of
St. Mary’s County.
Sheriff Somerville continues to
serve his community; he is currently a bailiff for Judge Karen H. Abrams of the
St. Mary’s County Circuit Court. Sheriff
Somerville is proud to be serving the citizens of St. Mary’s County, and having
two of his sons follow in his footsteps; son Kevin retired from the Sheriff’s
Office after serving for twenty-five years, and son Joseph is proudly carrying
on his father’s legacy with over twenty-two years of service thus far with the
St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office.
For more exciting history of the oldest,
continuously operating Sheriff’s Office in the nation, the “America’s First”
history book, is available for purchase. The price of the hardback copy is $95,
and the softbound copy is $35; both styles of the book can be purchased at the
Sheriff’s Office located at 23150 Leonard Hall Drive, in Leonardtown, Maryland.
Sheriff Cameron and Sheriff Somerville
Sheriff Berry, Sheriff Somerville, Sheriff Cameron
Sheriff Berry and Sheriff Somerville
Major Merican and Sheriff Somerville
Sheriff Berry, SMCSO Chaplain Gwen Bankins, Sheriff Somerville, Sheriff Cameron
Assistant States Attorney Jaymi Sterling and Sheriff Somerville
Sheriff Somerville and SAC Gordon Johnson
Captain Yingling, Sheriff Somerville, Captain Hall
