Amherst sheriff’s office re‑accredited; board presses commonwealth’s attorney over Brady letters and votes to seek legislative protections for deputies
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Summary
The Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission presented a four‑year re‑accreditation certificate to the Amherst County Sheriff's Office. Immediately after, supervisors debated Brady/Giglio letters naming deputies, criticized the commonwealth's attorney for not attending, and passed motions asking for legislative due‑process protections and requesting factual support from the commonwealth's attorney.
The Amherst County Sheriff's Office received a four‑year re‑accreditation certificate from the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission during the board's Nov. 18 meeting, and commission staff praised the office's professionalism, training and transparency.
Todd Klingenpil, program manager for the commission, said assessors reviewed administration, personnel, training and operations and found the sheriff's office met the accreditation standards. The certificate was presented to Sheriff Ayers, who thanked personnel and county leaders for support.
Immediately following the presentation, discussion shifted to recently surfaced Brady/Giglio letters that, according to sheriff's office leaders, had not been disclosed to the sheriff’s administration and that criticize or question deputies’ credibility in court. Board members said those letters can be career‑ending and that deputies lack recourse when a prosecutor files such notifications.
Sheriff Ayers described how a defense attorney disclosed a Brady letter during a criminal trial and that his office learned of the letter only afterward. He and others criticized what they called repetitive, harmful use of prosecutorial disclosure letters and urged the board to seek changes at the state level.
Supervisor Martin moved — and the board voted — to take two actions: (1) add a legislative agenda item urging the General Assembly to provide due‑process protections or recourse for deputies when Brady/Giglio letters are issued; and (2) request that the county attorney ask the Commonwealth's attorney to provide factual support for allegations in the letters that named Major Begley and others. The Commonwealth's attorney declined to attend the meeting and had previously sent an email explaining his view of prosecutorial disclosure obligations; board members said that response was inadequate and asked for documentation.
What this means: The accreditation stands as an endorsement of the sheriff's office operations. Separately, the board has asked staff to pursue both a legislative approach and formal requests for factual support from the Commonwealth's attorney; any statutory change would require action by the General Assembly.
