“It was not an easy decision to make,” said Greenbrier County Sheriff Jan Cahill, stating he “struggled with it for three weeks” before accepting the position of Superintendent of the West Virginia State Police (WVSP) offered in early December by Governor-Elect Jim Justice.
Cahill said he will go back to the department he came from, referring to his 23-year career in a variety of roles with the WVSP, beginning in 1989, as a field trooper. Over the years, Cahill moved on to assume duties as a detachment commander, district commander and drug task force commander, and then retiring in 2012 as troop commander captain for the Beckley detachment of the WVSP. That same year he was elected to the office of Greenbrier County Sheriff.
As sheriff, Cahill reestablished the Greenbrier Valley Drug and Violent Crime Task Force that was successful in making numerous convictions involving the distribution of heroin and opioids.
“Sheriff Cahill’s law enforcement experience will make him a successful superintendent of our state police,” Justice said in a press release. “He will lead the WVSP to keep our people safe. I look forward to working with Jan on modernizing the WVSP to better serve the state of West Virginia.”
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as sheriff of Greenbrier County, and I leave with a heavy heart,” Cahill said. “I enjoyed the job more than I thought I would,” he confessed. He thanked the voters of every precinct in the county for supporting him through each election cycle with no opposition.
“After retiring from the state police five years ago, I am looking forward to coming back with fresh eyes to find new ways to protect the people of West Virginia. It was not an easy decision to leave the sheriff’s office, but I could not pass up this opportunity to help the state I love.”
Cahill, a native of Peterstown, lives in Lewisburg with his wife Selina. The couple have two daughters, a son-in-law and a grandson. State code requires the county commission to appoint an interim sheriff within 30 days.
