public safety 'men in black' Unit goes bygut THE UNIFORM

by Hugh Muir

It was shortly before a midnight in July when two sheriff's deputies stood at a stakeout near the exit to a residential community in northern Stafford. A car with two people came down the road to the exit, ran the stop sign, turned left and drove away.

Sgt. Alex Smith immediately radioed a third member of the team, Deputy Chris Armitage, who was a short distance away in an unmarked vehicle. He drove after the suspicious car as Smith and his partner, Deputy Vernon Galyen, ran in pursuit. The officers knew nothing about the car. They were acting on a hunch.

The deputies are members of the Stafford Special Problems Unit, a four-man team formed a year ago to focus on specific types of cases in a county facing increasing high-profile crime in a growing population. The deputies on that July stakeout were there because the community had been seen as a "high-crime-incident" area.

The encounter unfolded as Smith and Galyen ran up to the car that ran the stop sign, already pulled over by Armitage. The driver of the car, a woman, was being questioned outside the vehicle. As Smith arrived he heard the driver say she had seen her passenger throw something under his seat and she heard a clink of metal. Smith immediately ordered the man to get out of the car. He did so, but as he was being patted down he jerked away and ran.

Smith and Armitage caught up with the man and tackled him. In the ensuing scuffle, Smith heard Armitage shout, "Get off my gun!" The man had grabbed the butt of the officer's holstered pistol. But before the gun came lose, Smith pulled out his pepper spray and gave the suspect a blast in the face. Subdued, the man fell. Smith then walked over to the car, reached under the front passenger seat and removed a loaded .38-caliber revolver.

The case is now in the court system, each suspect facing a battery of charges. Neither of the car's occupants was a resident of the community under surveillance. Further investigation is being conducted as a result of the case. And all because of a run stop sign, and a hunch.

the team

1 2 3 Next Page

The members of the Special Problems Unit usually wear a black uniform, in contrast to the familiar tan uniforms of the Sheriff's Office. Sometimes they go undercover as plain-clothes officers. But when in uniform they are still fully identified as officers of the law, with badge and the usual equipment--including the .40-caliber Sig Sauer semi-automatic pistol with a 12-bullet clip that is standard issue to the Stafford force. --Hugh Muir

Sgt. Smith, 34, was born in Quantico, his father a Marine, his mother from Falmouth. He is a 1991 graduate of James Monroe High School. In 1994 he became a radio dispatcher in Fredericksburg and again later in Stafford. In 1999, he was sworn into the Sheriff's Department. Deputy Chris Armitage, 31, was born in Texas. He came east to study at Northern Virginia Community College and then served eight years in the Marines. Armitage has been with the Stafford Sheriff's Office for four years and was one of the original members of the SPU. He has a brother and a sister who live in New Orleans and his parents still live in Texas.

Deputy George Hernandez, 50, a member of a military family, moved around considerably in his youth. After two years of college, he joined the Marines and served for 25 years before retiring. He joined the Stafford force eight years ago. He is married with six children and three grandchildren.

Vernon Galyen, 28, is a Stafford native. A graduate of Stafford High School, he has an associate degree in criminal justice. He worked at the Rappahannock Regional Jail for three years before joining the Stafford force. He is married with two daughters, ages 6 and 2.

Read more stories about Stafford
Date published: 8/21/2007

1. Be respectful. No personal attacks.
2. Please avoid offensive, vulgar, abusive, hateful or defamatory language.
3. Read and follow THE RULES.
4. We will block violaters and ban repeat offenders.

Breaking News - click here to have the latest delivered to your email box or cell phone

Most Viewed