Sheriff Jacob “Jake” Sheriff speaks to students at the alternative school about avoiding gangs and succeeding in school. Sheriff said he feels strongly about working with local youth to help them avoid bad choices.By JASON PATTERSON
Editor & Publisher

When Jake Sheriff was a college student he had a bad  experience with law enforcement.
He and a fellow student were stopped by police officers who thought they might have had something to do with a burglary.
“They harassed us,” Sheriff said. “The way they treated us was totally uncalled for. We didn’t know anything about the burglary.”
Sheriff didn’t let the encounter give him a negative outlook on law enforcement, however. In fact that’s when he decided to pursue it as a career.
“I knew that if I was an officer I could have handled that a lot better,” Sheriff said. “You can enforce the law firmly and still treat people with respect. We have to remember that we are here to serve the people.”
That philosophy has served Sheriff well. He recently retired from the Mississippi Highway Patrol, where he served the last eight years as a master sergeant.
Sheriff worked his way up with good police work. His first promotion came after he captured a suspect following an extended vehicle pursuit that ended after Sheriff chased the man down on foot.
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