Shelby County Sheriff Names New Chief Deputy

SHELBY COUNTY, AL — The Shelby County Sheriff's Office has a new Chief Deputy. Major Ken Burchfield was promoted to the position this week by Sheriff John Samaniego.

Burchfield's promotion is effective starting September 27. Burchfield began his law enforcement career with the Hoover Police Department in 1989 where he served in numerous roles.

He was a member of the Special Response Team, DARE, Firearms Instructor, Field Training Officer, and Investigator. Burchfield left the Hoover Police Department in April of 2000 and began work as a legal investigator for Burr Forman, LLP, and then Davis & Norris, LLP until December 2003.

Burchfield returned to law enforcement as a Reserve Deputy for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office in 2002. In December 2003, Burchfield was hired by Sheriff Chris Curry as a Deputy Sheriff serving in the Patrol Division. In 2004 Burchfield was elevated to the rank of Captain and placed in charge of the newly formed Drug Task Force. He helped form the nucleus receiving assistance from other agencies in Shelby County developing a very effective Drug Task Force.

In December 2007, he was assigned as the Administrative Division Commander. Burchfield was then promoted to the rank of Major in 2015 where he was oversight for the Administrative and Jail divisions. Since that time, he has been responsible for many of the executive duties of the Sheriff’s Office including the role of Chief of Staff since the retirement of the former Chief Deputy in November 2018.

"Ken has served the last 15 years in many important roles within the Sheriff’s Office. He has the education, training, experience and the proven ability to lead," said Samaniego in a statement. "All of these qualities make him the perfect choice as Chief Deputy. He believes in my philosophy of engaging our citizens as their service provider and serving our citizens as our customers. Together, we will continue leading this great group of men and women we have at the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and provide the best law enforcement services possible."