Charles Plummer (sheriff)

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Charles C. Plummer has been the sheriff of Alameda County, California since 1987. He is believed to be the longest serving peace officer in California with more than 50 years of continous service. He is considered a "legend" by many in the law enforcement community.^{[citation needed]}

The Alameda County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) is a full service law enforcement agency. Currently, the office has over 1500 employees, both sworn and professional staff. The ACSO is organized into five divisions. Each division has responsibility for different public protection functions. The ACSO has numerous different work locations spread throughout the county.

Plummer was a field commander for the Berkeley Police Department when riots erupted in People's Park in 1969. Prior to being elected as sheriff, he was the Chief of Police for Hayward, California.

Plummer officially retired 13 January 2007 afetr serving five terms as sheriff. Gregory J. Ahern, a 26 year veteran of the sheriff's office, was elected to succeed him. Plummer will continue to work one or two days a week at the department's Office of Emergency Services as a sort of "sheriff emeritus."^[1]

Shortly before his retirement, there was a controversy regarding Sheriff Plummer's appointment of his son Larry Plummer to a $111,000 per year "terrorism coordinator" post in local governement. Sheriff Plummer said he appointed his son because he was the best candidate for the job, but it was revealed that Larry Plummer was the ONLY applicant, because the Sheriff's department had not announced the vacancy, and only Larry Plummer knew of it. There was no negative consequence for Sheriff Plummer for his actions, and in fact, he was defended by Alameda County Supervisor Gail Steele, who was quotied as saying she did not believe there was any problem with nepotism in the County government.

Another minor controversy erupted on the day of his retirement as he commented on his regrets regarding the Berkeley protests: "I wish I would have hit some people harder during the riots".^[1]