This video contains actual news footage covering Sheriff Amerson's first days in office, with follow-up coverage a year later. Requires QuickTime Player - free download)

Sheriff “Amos”, as citizens of the rural communities called him, was a Korean war veteran who became known for his “no-nonsense” and “up in your face” style of law enforcement. He won the respect of black and white citizens for his commitment to enforce the law fairly and equally regardless of color.

During Amerson’s first term in office, he was immediately challenged by Jim Crow loyalists when he arrested a white Police Chief and a white Alabama State Trooper for beating an unarmed Negro man. Both white officers were subsequently brought to trial.

Sheriff Amerson’s election drew local and national interest. Numerous media outlets covered his election as well as his first three terms in office. He was featured on the cover of Jet Magazine’s March 30, 1967 edition as well as the Alabama Sheriffs Star Magazine’s summer 1983 edition.

Sheriff Amerson served five four-year terms. The late Hattie Simmons West Kelly, Retired Dean of Women [Tuskegee Institute] summed up the sentiments of many Negroes during his first term in office by saying “ We are proud of our sheriff because he’s not afraid of anything or anybody”. Sheriff Amerson died of natural causes in 1994 at his home in Tuskegee, Alabama.

Before his death, Sheriff Amerson penned several chapters to his eventual autobiography. His son Anthony E. has picked up where his father left off and completed the book in December 2003. When younger Amerson is asked about his motivation for documenting his father’s story, his response is “Who else is going to tell our stories if we don’t? It is my hope that my dad’s story will bring more balance to our recorded history and that it will inspire our youth to maintain the pursuit for equality.”

Sheriff Amerson was a founding member of The National Organization Of Black Law Enforcement Executives (N.O.B.L.E).