HAMLET — Richmond County Schools Special Police Force is made up of a diverse group of sworn law enforcement officers.
Officers Henley Smith, Bill Williams, Tony McNair, Mike Rush, and Chief Ricardo Leak work tirelessly to protect and serve our schools.
Each officer has a unique skill set developed from their previous experiences in other law enforcement or military roles. Combined, our five beloved officers have 183 years of law enforcement experience alone.
We hope this mini-series of biographies allows us to show the community a glimpse of our officers' wisdom and experience.
Officer Smith
In May 2000, Officer Henley Smith began his career working with the Richmond County Sheriff's Office. While working in the jail in December of 2001, he was called up to become a deputy and began training. In March of 2001, Smith went to basic law enforcement training. After completing the training, he was put on the road and was answering calls and serving papers.
After approximately three years, he was moved to the drug team, where he worked in narcotics. While in narcotics, he investigated drug activity in the county and made hundreds of felony arrests.
After about four years in narcotics, he went back on the road where he continued answering calls and serving papers. A few years later, he was promoted to sergeant, where he supervised a patrol unit.
While at the sheriff's office, Smith attended classes in different areas, such as drug enforcement, crime investigation, first-line supervision, and SWAT training, where he was on the SWAT Team for nearly 10 years.
In 2016, after serving with the Sheriff's Office for 16 1/2 years, Smith retired at the age of 55. He then came to work with the Richmond County Schools as a school resource officer where he serves and protects the students of Richmond Senior High School daily.
