the.com/sheriff
the only county official armed enough to ignore the governor and old enough to predate America.
means An elected or appointed law-enforcement officer with authority over a county, responsible for policing, running the jail, and serving court orders.
from A genuine Old English mashup: 'shire' (a county or administrative district) plus 'reeve' (a royal official or steward), giving 'scīrgerēfa' — literally the 'shire-reeve,' the king's man minding a county. Centuries of slurring it together wore the two words down into 'sheriff.' So the title is older than England's united kingdom and far older than the American West that made it famous on a tin star.
- old word
- From shire-reeve, England's royal tax man
- only elected
- Most U.S. sheriffs win their badge by vote
- county king
- Often the highest law enforcer in the county
- jail keeper
- Many run the local jail too
- posse power
- Can legally deputize ordinary citizens for emergencies
sheriff of nottingham — fictional antagonist in robin hood legends, symbol of corrupt authority in sherwood forest
wyatt earp — legendary sheriff of tombstone, arizona who participated in the ok corral gunfight in 1881
andy taylor — fictional sheriff of mayberry, north carolina in the 1960s tv series, played by andy griffith