His Career In Local Law Enforcement Started In 1970
A stalwart law enforcement officer has been recognized in connection with Black History month by the Rockbridge NAACP, celebrating his more than 50 years of service.
Lt. Paul Smothers’ place in local history is marked by two “firsts.” He began his work with the Lexington police department immediately after graduating from high school in 1970 and became the department’s first Black patrolman. Nine years later, he joined the Rockbridge County sheriff’s department as the county’s first on-theroad Black officer.
In connection with a plaque designed to honor Lt. Smothers and presented on Feb. 21, chapter president Reginald Early said, “The Rockbridge NAACP is pleased to recognize Lt. Smothers for his extraordinary service to the Lexington police force and the county sheriff’s department. He has been a role model for these departments and for the community.”
As Smothers recalls, “My law enforcement career began on Sept. 1, 1970, and I was with the city of Lexington until Aug. 31, 1979, the city’s first Black patrol officer. I started working for the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office on Sept. 1, 1970, as a road deputy. I was first Black deputy sheriff for the county, and I served as a deputy sheriff until I retired on Sept. 1, 2006, with the rank of lieutenant deputy sheriff.”
The grass, however, did not grow under Smothers’ feet. After 60 days he was back at work, this time as a part-time Rockbridge County court bailiff. In the county court system, he explained, he usually works as a bailiff in the county’s circuit court, where the bailiff announces the judge’s entry, checks jurors in and assists them in their duties. The bailiffs also handle the screening process at the courthouse entrance.
Smothers grew up in Lexington, where his parents moved from Clifton Forge shortly after he was born. As a youth, he recalls delivering papers – The News-Gazette and the Richmond Times-Dispatch – and says, “That was just part of growing up here.” His uncle and mother ran the Satellite Restaurant on Main Street, and he also worked to help them there. Summer jobs included work at Washington and Lee, where he remembers one summer learning some of the ins and outs of plumbing as he assisted a team of pipefitters.
He still lives in Lexington, enjoys his work and leisure time, and often helps his mother, now 95 and still living at home. His daughter and two grandchildren live in North Carolina, his two sisters and older brother, in Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina, respectively. A younger brother, now deceased, was a graduate of W&L.
Was it hard, as such a young Black man in the 1970s, to be a forerunner in two law enforcement departments? “Well, it wasn’t easy at first,” he says. “I was accepted, but you could feel a little tension.” But as he settled into his role as a deputy sheriff, he said, “All the deputies shared respect.” He adds, “I worked under seven different sheriffs, starting with William Chittum and ending with Tony McFaddin, and with several judges, and I’ve enjoyed working with all of them.”
He notes that as Lexington and the county have changed over the years, there’s often not enough for young people to do that will keep them here, and he sees that as something he wishes might change and improve.
For himself, however, he says, “I now have 54 years of law enforcement service, and I’m still working as a court bailiff!”
The plaque presented by the Rev. Early salutes Lt. Smothers’ dedication. It reads: “The Rockbridge NAACP recognizes Lt. Paul A. Smothers for 50+ years of dedicated service as a law enforcement officer in Lexington, VA and Rockbridge County. The chapter thanks you for your service.”
