Release Date: January 16, 2008 For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary Contact: 202-282-8010 I am pleased to announce my appointment of Sheriff Edmund M. “Ted” Sexton as the department’s first Assistant Secretary for State and Local Law Enforcement. Ted brings more than 28 years of law enforcement experience to my senior leadership team, and to this important new capacity as my chief liaison with state and local law enforcement partners. Ted is a highly decorated and widely respected law enforcement professional with an impressive record of innovation and results throughout his career. Ted joins the department after serving as Sheriff of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, for the past 17 years. He is credited with increasing the education, training and professionalism of law enforcement officials throughout his community, and for leading the expansion of that office during a period of significant population growth in the community. Ted served as President of the National Sheriff’s Association and was recognized last year as their Outstanding Sheriff of the Year. He is also a dedicated member of the Alabama law enforcement and homeland security community, serving on the Alabama Homeland Security Director’s Law Enforcement Advisory Committee and on the Alabama Mutual Aid Task Force. Ted is a graduate of the University of Alabama, and has served as an adjunct instructor for their law enforcement academy. He has specialized training from the United States Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Sheriff’s Institute, and National Institute of Corrections. Ted is also currently enrolled in The Naval Postgraduate School’s Homeland Security Executive Leadership Program. The state and local law enforcement community is among our most critical stakeholders. This new position, within our Policy Directorate, will strengthen our ties with state and local law enforcement partners and ensure that their perspective plays an even larger role in policy making. I am grateful for Ted’s commitment to the safety and security of the American public, and look forward to his counsel and expertise as we work with state and local law enforcement partners to enforce the rule of law and secure our homeland.