Captain Stephen Salvas

A few weeks ago, we said farewell and best wishes to Captain Stephen Salvas who retired after serving the agency and Charles County for 25 years! He started in Corrections from 1994-1995. In 1996, he graduated from the Southern Maryland Criminal Justice Academy and was a patrol officer assigned to D3 (Waldorf). He also served as a detective in the Criminal Investigations Division / Child Abuse. When he was promoted, he served as a supervisor in Patrol Operations, Internal Affairs, and the Domestic Violence Unit. As a commander, he supervised the Community Services Section, Executive Serves and finished his career in charge of the Office of Professional Responsibility.

Captain Salvas said he was proud to serve in any capacity with the sheriff’s office but perhaps his greatest sense of accomplishment was most felt with every single child abuse investigation that he was able to close with justice served. His commitment to justice also included identifying a loophole in a child abuse statute and then testifying before the Maryland House of Delegates from 2003 – 2006 and the Maryland Senate in 2006 to help close the loophole.

Another defining point in his career was when representatives from the Department of Justice visited the agency’s School Resource Officer (SRO) program, which he supervised, soon after the horrific attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Wanting a better understanding of the school resource officer program, the CCSO invited the DOJ to observe, first-hand, our SROs in action. After spending an entire day with Captain Salvas and the school resource officers, members of the DOJ remarked how impressed they were with the program.

During his career, Captain Salvas served on the Boards of Directors for the United Way of Charles County, the Center for Abused Persons, and the Charles County Advocacy Council for Children, Youth, and Families. Further, he worked with the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team and the Southern Maryland Food Bank among others.

Prior to joining the CCSO, Captain Salvas earned a bachelor’s degree in Biblical studies from Washington Bible College and then he taught at a Christian school for four years. But police work, which ran in his family, was where his true calling was at that time. His father was a police officer with Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and his brother was a Maryland State police officer so it was only fitting that he pursued his childhood dream of becoming a police officer.

A man of deep faith and grace, Captain Salvas was known for his sense of compassion, objectivity, and empathy. It makes perfect sense that Captain Salvas retired now to follow his other dream of ministry. He will serve as an associate pastor at a church in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Captain Salvas we will miss you and you will always be a part of our CCSO family.

 

Error typo: Mr. Salvas is NOT deceased, he has retired.