by Neil Richard
The basic idea behind this interview series is to interview local leaders that live, work, or have an important impact on King George County. We have asked various citizens for recommendations on who they see as a local leader. Additionally, we feel that everyone has a story and it deserves to be told. So we want to know their story. As you can see with the questions below, we want to share their story with the rest of the citizens in King George County. If you have somebody you would like to nominate for a future interview, please contact us.
Sheriff Dempsey provided me with a printed list of his military, law enforcement, and educational background. These accomplishments were not entirely captured during the interview but show a deep understanding and breadth of experience in law enforcement. His educational background included graduating from King George High School, an Associates from Germanna Community College, and graduating from the Rappahannock Criminal Justice Academy. Sheriff Dempsey is also a graduate of the Metropolitan Police K-9 Academy, the FBI National Academy, and the DEA Drug Unit Commanders Academy. He served in the Virginia National Guard from 1972 to 1978 and was honorably discharged.
Boards. I'm on the Rappahannock Regional Justice Academy Executive Board. I'm on the Jail Authority at Rappahannock Regional Jail. I am on the Tri-County Narcotics Task Force Command Board. And I'm on the Board of the YMCA. And I'm currently serving on the Virginia State Child Fatality Team which is appointed by the Governor. I hold the position of President of the Virginia Sheriff's Association. And last year I served as the State Chair for the Virginia Special Olympics.
I graduated from King George High School in 1972.
I started with the Sheriff's Office in May of 1980.
What do you remember about your grandparents?
I did not know my grandfather on the Dempsey side. But my Grandmother Dempsey, I remember her as being very much a loving, compassionate, caring grandmother. My mother died when I was six years old. My biological mother. My Grandmother Dempsey moved in with us and took care of us. My brother, myself, and my dad, for two years. She just come right in the next day after my mother died and took care of us as if we were her own. And never stopped. She was just that way about her whole family. She just cared. She was the center of the family. Everybody went to Granny Dempsey's house. For lunch, for food, for anything we needed, you went to Granny Dempsey's house. She was the center of the Dempsey family.
My mother's parents, they were the same way. They were not as much involved in our family as my Grandmother Dempsey was but they were always there. They were always home. They lived in the city of Fredericksburg. They were great grandparents. Both sides of my family were, great grandparents. Loving grandparents. Compassionate grandparents.
What historical events influenced your life the most?
So you're looking for something historical in my lifetime. Interesting question. There are certain things I remember well. I remember John F. Kennedy's assassination. I was in fifth grade. I remember hearing that. I'm not sure I could say it influenced me in anyway. My mother dying when I was six years old probably had the greatest influence on myself and my entire family. So I'm not sure it's a historical event.
Certainly 9/11. Again that was an event that was very impactful. I was standing in the Sheriff's Office where we heard that the tower had been hit with the first plane and I was able to get to a television in the 911 center and watched the second plane hit. and immediately that was very impactful as well. Started a chain of events that changed the way we do business in the police force.
As far as in my career, the Lisk-Silva case was probably the most impactful case. And influenced my career a great deal. Had a great impact on my career. That case had a huge impact and influence on my career. I'll say that anytime, as a result of that case, anytime we have a child go missing in King George County, I'm alerted. And we immediately go full speed forward for missing children. If it turns out to be a runaway or something else, if we have a missing child, we work fast. That case probably had the greatest influence.
Your mom dying when you were six obviously that had a huge influence on your life. What came about as a result of that? Your grandmother moved in, but what else changed?
My dad was a good dad but as a result of my mom passing away, he became a Christian. And we, as a family, at that point immediately started attending church on a regular basis. And my dad became quite involved in ministering himself even though he was employed with Virginia Power Company, now Dominion, at the time. He became quite involved with church. So that had a huge impact on the family. We immediately attended church and eventually we all became Christians. That was huge. Our family made a huge turn-around. My grandmother was a strong Christian lady and she came in and said this is the way it was going to be. She gave everybody marching orders, to include my dad, who was her son.
Outside of work and home, what is your favorite place in King George?
Church.
What person, place, or thing do you think is the most underappreciated in King George County?
The historical value that we have in King George County is great. I know that we have a Historical Society, and they do a good job. It's a small group of people. We have some very historic homes. I think it's the King George Historical Society. I'm not a member of them but I may become one when I retire. But it's certainly underappreciated. They have a museum, they do a lot of work. You know, King George is rich in history. Marmion. Cedar Grove. Caledon. It's a lot. A lot of homes.
Who is your inspiration or mentor?
Sheriff Dobson. My inspiration is God. My mentor is certainly Sheriff Dobson. When he took office as Sheriff, King George County did not have 24 hour patrol, did not have a 911 system, and he, through his growth with his vision, he established all of that. We started out with a 24 hour patrol and built on that and where we are today. 911 system and our communications and fire and rescue and dispatch and police dispatch for the County, we have state of the art 911 system. We built upon it all to have what we have today. I recognize and appreciate that.
Something he always taught, and I'll try to go back and remember this and piece this together. Never get too big to pay attention to the small complaints that we get as a Sheriff's Office. And never remain too small to where you cannot handle large complaints. And he always stuck with that. He told me that more than once.
What is your ideal vision for King George County in the future?
I'm not sure I can answer that for the whole County. Certainly we want the County to remain somewhat agricultural and rural. I would say that. We've always enjoyed that. But at the same time we want to balance the County to where we continue to look for revenue to where we can maintain public safety as a priority. The Board of Supervisors for the last twenty years has been very supportive of the Sheriff's Office, Fire Department, Rescue. We have good equipment, good staff, our numbers are somewhat sufficient to provide the necessary means for the County. If we want to keep up, the saying is, which my dad used to tell me, is it's easier to keep up than to catch up. And King George has done well with that. And we want to make sure we keep keeping up.
Our population, geographically, is going to continue to grow. Some of the Northern Neck counties are declining but King George is going to grow. And we need to grow with it.
What do you feel are the top 3 issues to address in King George?
One of those is to keep up with public safety needs for the citizens of King George County.
Certainly we want to maintain our educational needs for the County.
Third, seeking a source of revenue to support the above two issues. I'll be before the Board tonight to discuss that, the cigarette tax. If we can get that approved, that would be a huge source of revenue for King George.
What do you feel are the top 3 successes in King George?
Sort of overlapping previous comments but I think we're doing it right. Our priority has certainly been staffing in King George. Public safety is certainly one of my concerns and we've done well with staffing the needs for King George's public safety. And staffing the administration, Service Authority, Waste Management, I think King George has done a good job of staffing for the needs and services for King George. So staffing is one success.
Certainly securing and making some good decisions for revenue sources. We've tracked in some good sources of revenue, certainly the industry that we have like the landfill. Walmart. So some good industry for revenue.
Third one. The YMCA is a good one. The YMCA is a huge benefit to King George.
What person, place, or thing do you think we lack in King George?
We lack medical services. And I'll say this maybe a better way. We lack sufficient medical services.
And I don't know how to word this, this is just thinking about it sitting here. An awful lot of businesses establish in the Dahlgren area. And we don't see a lot here in the King George area. A few, but not a lot. So a better balance of location of businesses. But still, you think about it, anybody living west of 206 and Route 3, they probably go to Stafford County to do business. Or Fredericksburg. I live out there so for me, it's closer. Going to Dahlgren is further for me.
And one other thing we lack in King George is a Courthouse. I know it's a political thing coming up but we need a Courthouse real bad.
Introduction
The basic idea behind this interview series is to interview local leaders that live, work, or have an important impact on King George County. We have asked various citizens for recommendations on who they see as a local leader. Additionally, we feel that everyone has a story and it deserves to be told. So we want to know their story. As you can see with the questions below, we want to share their story with the rest of the citizens in King George County. If you have somebody you would like to nominate for a future interview, please contact us.
Sheriff Steve Dempsey, King George County Sheriff. Behind him is a painting of his father, Willis Dempsey, by Victoria Garrett.
Basic Biographical Information
Sheriff Dempsey provided me with a printed list of his military, law enforcement, and educational background. These accomplishments were not entirely captured during the interview but show a deep understanding and breadth of experience in law enforcement. His educational background included graduating from King George High School, an Associates from Germanna Community College, and graduating from the Rappahannock Criminal Justice Academy. Sheriff Dempsey is also a graduate of the Metropolitan Police K-9 Academy, the FBI National Academy, and the DEA Drug Unit Commanders Academy. He served in the Virginia National Guard from 1972 to 1978 and was honorably discharged.
Boards. I'm on the Rappahannock Regional Justice Academy Executive Board. I'm on the Jail Authority at Rappahannock Regional Jail. I am on the Tri-County Narcotics Task Force Command Board. And I'm on the Board of the YMCA. And I'm currently serving on the Virginia State Child Fatality Team which is appointed by the Governor. I hold the position of President of the Virginia Sheriff's Association. And last year I served as the State Chair for the Virginia Special Olympics.
I graduated from King George High School in 1972.
I started with the Sheriff's Office in May of 1980.
Personal Questions
What do you remember about your grandparents?
I did not know my grandfather on the Dempsey side. But my Grandmother Dempsey, I remember her as being very much a loving, compassionate, caring grandmother. My mother died when I was six years old. My biological mother. My Grandmother Dempsey moved in with us and took care of us. My brother, myself, and my dad, for two years. She just come right in the next day after my mother died and took care of us as if we were her own. And never stopped. She was just that way about her whole family. She just cared. She was the center of the family. Everybody went to Granny Dempsey's house. For lunch, for food, for anything we needed, you went to Granny Dempsey's house. She was the center of the Dempsey family.
My mother's parents, they were the same way. They were not as much involved in our family as my Grandmother Dempsey was but they were always there. They were always home. They lived in the city of Fredericksburg. They were great grandparents. Both sides of my family were, great grandparents. Loving grandparents. Compassionate grandparents.
What historical events influenced your life the most?
So you're looking for something historical in my lifetime. Interesting question. There are certain things I remember well. I remember John F. Kennedy's assassination. I was in fifth grade. I remember hearing that. I'm not sure I could say it influenced me in anyway. My mother dying when I was six years old probably had the greatest influence on myself and my entire family. So I'm not sure it's a historical event.
Certainly 9/11. Again that was an event that was very impactful. I was standing in the Sheriff's Office where we heard that the tower had been hit with the first plane and I was able to get to a television in the 911 center and watched the second plane hit. and immediately that was very impactful as well. Started a chain of events that changed the way we do business in the police force.
As far as in my career, the Lisk-Silva case was probably the most impactful case. And influenced my career a great deal. Had a great impact on my career. That case had a huge impact and influence on my career. I'll say that anytime, as a result of that case, anytime we have a child go missing in King George County, I'm alerted. And we immediately go full speed forward for missing children. If it turns out to be a runaway or something else, if we have a missing child, we work fast. That case probably had the greatest influence.
Your mom dying when you were six obviously that had a huge influence on your life. What came about as a result of that? Your grandmother moved in, but what else changed?
My dad was a good dad but as a result of my mom passing away, he became a Christian. And we, as a family, at that point immediately started attending church on a regular basis. And my dad became quite involved in ministering himself even though he was employed with Virginia Power Company, now Dominion, at the time. He became quite involved with church. So that had a huge impact on the family. We immediately attended church and eventually we all became Christians. That was huge. Our family made a huge turn-around. My grandmother was a strong Christian lady and she came in and said this is the way it was going to be. She gave everybody marching orders, to include my dad, who was her son.
Outside of work and home, what is your favorite place in King George?
Church.
What person, place, or thing do you think is the most underappreciated in King George County?
The historical value that we have in King George County is great. I know that we have a Historical Society, and they do a good job. It's a small group of people. We have some very historic homes. I think it's the King George Historical Society. I'm not a member of them but I may become one when I retire. But it's certainly underappreciated. They have a museum, they do a lot of work. You know, King George is rich in history. Marmion. Cedar Grove. Caledon. It's a lot. A lot of homes.
Professional Questions
Who is your inspiration or mentor?
Sheriff Dobson. My inspiration is God. My mentor is certainly Sheriff Dobson. When he took office as Sheriff, King George County did not have 24 hour patrol, did not have a 911 system, and he, through his growth with his vision, he established all of that. We started out with a 24 hour patrol and built on that and where we are today. 911 system and our communications and fire and rescue and dispatch and police dispatch for the County, we have state of the art 911 system. We built upon it all to have what we have today. I recognize and appreciate that.
Something he always taught, and I'll try to go back and remember this and piece this together. Never get too big to pay attention to the small complaints that we get as a Sheriff's Office. And never remain too small to where you cannot handle large complaints. And he always stuck with that. He told me that more than once.
What is your ideal vision for King George County in the future?
I'm not sure I can answer that for the whole County. Certainly we want the County to remain somewhat agricultural and rural. I would say that. We've always enjoyed that. But at the same time we want to balance the County to where we continue to look for revenue to where we can maintain public safety as a priority. The Board of Supervisors for the last twenty years has been very supportive of the Sheriff's Office, Fire Department, Rescue. We have good equipment, good staff, our numbers are somewhat sufficient to provide the necessary means for the County. If we want to keep up, the saying is, which my dad used to tell me, is it's easier to keep up than to catch up. And King George has done well with that. And we want to make sure we keep keeping up.
Our population, geographically, is going to continue to grow. Some of the Northern Neck counties are declining but King George is going to grow. And we need to grow with it.
What do you feel are the top 3 issues to address in King George?
One of those is to keep up with public safety needs for the citizens of King George County.
Certainly we want to maintain our educational needs for the County.
Third, seeking a source of revenue to support the above two issues. I'll be before the Board tonight to discuss that, the cigarette tax. If we can get that approved, that would be a huge source of revenue for King George.
What do you feel are the top 3 successes in King George?
Sort of overlapping previous comments but I think we're doing it right. Our priority has certainly been staffing in King George. Public safety is certainly one of my concerns and we've done well with staffing the needs for King George's public safety. And staffing the administration, Service Authority, Waste Management, I think King George has done a good job of staffing for the needs and services for King George. So staffing is one success.
Certainly securing and making some good decisions for revenue sources. We've tracked in some good sources of revenue, certainly the industry that we have like the landfill. Walmart. So some good industry for revenue.
Third one. The YMCA is a good one. The YMCA is a huge benefit to King George.
What person, place, or thing do you think we lack in King George?
We lack medical services. And I'll say this maybe a better way. We lack sufficient medical services.
And I don't know how to word this, this is just thinking about it sitting here. An awful lot of businesses establish in the Dahlgren area. And we don't see a lot here in the King George area. A few, but not a lot. So a better balance of location of businesses. But still, you think about it, anybody living west of 206 and Route 3, they probably go to Stafford County to do business. Or Fredericksburg. I live out there so for me, it's closer. Going to Dahlgren is further for me.
And one other thing we lack in King George is a Courthouse. I know it's a political thing coming up but we need a Courthouse real bad.
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