Editor’s Note: The following was submitted by the candidate to the Tate Record for publishing.
Tate County Chief Deputy Victor Byrd has declared his intention to seek the office of Sheriff in the upcoming election. In his current position, Byrd serves as second in command to the sheriff and manages the day-to-day operations at the Sheriff’s Office and the Tate County Jail. During Byrd’s tenure at the Sheriff’s Department he has served the citizens of Tate County as a patrol deputy, investigator, Chief of Investigations and is the current Chief Deputy.
Born 57 years ago into an American military family, he grew up mostly in California, graduating from Merced High School and attending Merced Community College, where he earned a certification as a law enforcement officer.
Byrd comes from a law enforcement family. His father, who earned a Bronze Star for his military service, served as a detective in the Merced Police Department and later became an investigator for the district attorney. His brother also served as a police captain in Fresno.
Byrd has made Tate County his home since 1994 working as an installer for Time Warner. He really wanted to put his law enforcement training to work and was offered a job with the Senatobia Police Department by former SenatobiaChief Sammy Webb in 1998.
After serving in that role, he was hired by former long-time Sheriff Shelton Ingram as a deputy. Working in both local law enforcement agencies has been advantageous for his career, Byrd feels. “I have become familiar with the streets of Senatobia and the roads of Tate County. But most importantly the people of Senatobia and Tate County. They are some of the nicest and friendliest people I have ever met,” Byrd said.
The department’s relationship with the community is of utmost importance to Byrd. “I feel like we need to strengthen the relationships between department personnel and the people as a way to improve communication and understanding with the community,” Byrd said. He cited the example of the department’s new school resource officer program (SRO). “We’ve put officers in the schools, and they are building relationships and creating an understanding about law enforcement with the next generation,” Byrd said.
As Chief Deputy, Byrd has learned how to make the most of the Sheriff’s Department budget but would not be shy about finding additional resources. He plans to bring in more revenue to the department through grants and has two current employees with grant writing experience. “I am looking forward to finding additional resources to fight crime here in Tate County,” Byrd said.
Byrd has been married for 20 years to the former Penny Payne, a lifelong Tate countian and daughter of Billy Payne and Janice Key Herron. They are the parents of three children, Jacie (19), a student at Northwest Community College: Jake (13), who plays baseball and Senatobia Junior High School and Colton (10), an honor student at SenatobiaElementary School. Both boys play ball in the city’s recreation league where Byrd volunteers as an assistant coach. The Byrd family attends and are members of the Senatobia Church of Christ.
When current Sheriff Brad Lance announced his retirement, Byrd knew wanted to continue his service to the community. “I want to continue to serve and show the citizens of Tate County my gratitude. I want Tate Countians to know that I will always treat them fairly. It has been and is an honor to be trusted by the people of this county, to be trusted to serve them, “Byrd said.
