YORK COUNTY— York-Poquoson Sheriff Ron Montgomery celebrated a career milestone on Jan. 1, beginning his 50th year in law enforcement.
Growing up, Montgomery’s father served as a police officer with the City of Williamsburg. Being around law enforcement officers for most of his life, young Ron knew he had no interest in making that his own calling.
Home for a college winter break, one of his father’s friends who worked for the York County Sheriff inquired what his plans were after graduation. Montgomery had few ideas, but took up an offer to join him on a ride-along. Very quickly into that ride, Montgomery said he decided he wanted to pursue law enforcement.
Montgomery went in for an interview with York County Sheriff Albert Sidney White in December 1974, and began his career with the York County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 1, 1975. During his career, he has been a patrol deputy, Major Crimes Investigator, Commander of the Major Crimes Division and served as the Chief Deputy for the Sheriff’s Office since March of 2000.
Throughout his 50-year tenure, Montgomery said he is proud of the amount of technology that he has been able to bring to the department.
“I’m very proud of the fact that I’ve initiated a lot of technology in the Sheriff’s office over the years. I sent the first investigators to the Virginia Forensic Academy after I became the Captain. We invested in a lot of technology as a result of that. In 1990, I oversaw the purchase and installation of the first computer system. I was instrumental in putting the first in-car cameras into police vehicles in the early ’90s. In 2015, I was instrumental in establishing the body-worn camera program here, where we were the first agency on the peninsula to have 100% of the uniformed patrol division wearing body cameras. I was part of the purchase and start of the drone program in York County. I’m really proud of all the technology assets that we’ve brought to the area,” Montgomery shared.
He is also proud of the relationship his deputies have with students in the local school system.
“It is part of the routine with the deputies on day shift. When school is in session, they basically adopt the elementary schools in their patrol zone and as often as possible, they go by there. They meet with the principal and staff there and they take time to go around to all the classrooms to see the kids,” Montgomery shared. “I initially started that program because I thought it would bring a sense of security to not only the school, but the parents whose kids go to those schools. But it didn’t take me long to realize that what we were really developing was a long-term relationship with these kids at a very early age that I think will pay dividends down the road.”
Over his 50-year career, Montgomery has seen lots of changes within the law enforcement practice.
“A dramatic change has been the responsibility of law enforcement when it comes to dealing with people in a mental health crisis. There was zero training available to us when I started in this career and many years into my career. As we realized that jail is not the place for some of these people that are facing mental health crisis and we really started to explore other places for them,” Montgomery said. “It’s a great thing, but it’s put a tremendous burden on law enforcement in some respects to deal with that because it’s not only recognizing that people are having a mental health crisis, but a lot of it is how truly time-consuming it is when we pick up someone who is in a mental health crisis.”
With the rise in mental health issues in the United States, Montgomery shared that the process to helping someone in a crisis usually requires psychiatric evaluation, research on available bed space at mental health facilities, and then delivering that person to a place where services can be provided across the Commonwealth, all of which can take up a large portion of a deputy’s time.
Through learning about the rise in mental health and proper response protocol, Montgomery said he also decided to explore training for his deputies in how to respond to calls that may involve an autistic individual.
“I became aware that the special needs community was an area that we weren’t really addressing. After I got some education on it and I met with groups in the area, I soon realized that if you say that someone is autistic, it’s like saying they live in Hampton Roads — it’s that general,” Montgomery explained. “We partnered with the Autism Society of Tidewater and received some terrific training for my deputies. Part of that training was how to interact with those who have autism.”
Through that training, Montgomery launched a voluntary program in York County where residents can sign up for a magnetic sticker for their car — in the shape of the official symbol for Autism (the infinity symbol) — that alerts deputies that either the driver or a passenger in the stopped vehicle has autism.
Sheriff Montgomery also oversaw the construction of the new Sheriff’s Office building on Goodwin Neck Road. The facility opened in April and has allowed the department to host more programming for the community. It also has space for the department to grow.
Montgomery was elected as Sheriff in 2022, taking over the department in January of 2023 when then-Sheriff Danny Diggs was elected to the Virginia Senate. In doing so, Montgomery achieved a goal he set at the beginning of his career in 1975.
“From day one when I got into this business, it was my goal to become the Sheriff of York County. I didn’t give myself any particular timeline, I just kept working at it. I worked my way through the ranks. I’ve worked in every division within the agency, but it was always my goal to be sitting where I am sitting today,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery knows he is lucky to work in the Historic Triangle.
“The one thing that has never changed in my 50 years here is the relationship that this agency has with the community here in York County. It’s special. I tell people that we don’t take that relationship for granted. Small things matter,” he said. “I tell my deputies that you may not make a felony arrest today, and you may not write 10 tickets today if they are needed, but if you just simply take the time to speak to a senior citizen who lives alone or settle a neighborhood dispute, this community really appreciates that and that’s just as important to law enforcement here in York County as any of the major arrests that we make.”
