LAWRENCE CO. – Aaron Shoults Lawrence County Chief Deputy, is retiring after 35 years in law enforcement.
Chief Deputy Shoults’s career started at the Mitchell Police Department ,where he spent more than 12 years of service. Shoult’s will end his career at the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department.
His final day on the job will be at the end of March.
“I believe being Chief Deputy is one of my most rewarding parts of my years in law enforcement. Dealing with some of the issues that are faced by our department and solving them. As well as, making sure our officers have what they need in doing their job,” said Shoults.
Chief Deputy Shoults’ interest in law enforcement came from watching old time TV shows, such as Adam-12, and Dragnet, along with others.
It has been a rewarding career for Shoults as a crime fighter and trying to make the community a safer place to live.
Shoults career in law enforcement allowed him to serve in various capacities throughout the years. Shoults has served as a patrol officer, a DARE Officer, investigator, and finally as Chief Deputy.
“I still hold the record in the total amount of drugs taken off the streets in Lawrence County. Taking 112 pounds of marijuana, 1.5 pounds of meth, and $112,000 in drug money seized from my very first drug bust as an investigator,” Shoults reflected on.
Shoults used his time as a DARE officer to educate students on the dangers and consequences of drug use and trafficking. He was in hopes those students would choose to not go down the wrong path.
“I enjoyed my time working with the students and teachers. It was an honor to build those relationships and to drive cool cars like the 2000 Ford Mustang, and a 2005 Ford Mustang,” Shoults added. “Of course, we still have a DARE officer who also serves as a school resource officer trying our best to continue to provide this education to our community.”
“I believe we have made a difference in our community in getting drugs off the streets. We will always have drugs in our community, but I believe we do our best to fight this area of crime,” he added.
According to Shoults law enforcement is a rewarding career.
“In this profession, it is something you are not going to get rich off of, but it is honorable. You do your best to help who you can and be fair to everyone. We try to show respect even to the people who end up on the wrong side of the law,” said Shoults.
The current trends toward law enforcement officers are not as favorable at this time, but those trends continue to be short lived with people circling back and supporting law enforcement.
In Lawrence County, Shoults says the community as a whole has always supported law enforcement and has been a great community to work with.
“Our law enforcement officers are some of best well-trained officers and are able to do a wide variety of policing among the county, we will always do what we have always done here,” Shoults lamented.
The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department has many additional tasks that some other law enforcement agencies do not.
Those primary responsibilities include serving the courts, providing court security, transporting inmates to court and doctor appointments, jail duties, and serving warrants.
After his last day on the job, Shoults plans to enjoy retirement. He does have plans that will fill his free time.
“I am ready for retirement, last summer I got into kayaking. I hope to do some traveling and looking forward to raising my three-year-old granddaughter,” he added.
He does admit there will be a few things he will miss, including his fellow officers.
Major Gregg Taylor has been named as Shoults’s replacement by Lawrence County Sheriff Mike Branham.
“Gregg Taylor is a well-qualified deputy who will do Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department well in his new role,” Shoults concluded.
