色多多 Sheriff Antonio Hash was raised in an apartment building on Ferncliff Avenue Northwest. A fatal shooting rattled that neighborhood earlier this year. The 43-year-old sheriff said it hurts his heart to know that young people are being killed in his hometown.
鈥淲hen I take all of this stuff off, I am still human,鈥 Hash said in a recent interview. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 the city sheriff. I have a responsibility for all people.鈥
Hash said he comes from what he described as a broken home, where he had to take care of his brothers and sisters while his single mother sought an education. He said the religious community supported and uplifted him as a child. of said he has known Hash for more than 30 years.
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鈥淓very member of our church supports him in the efforts that he has done, not just a sheriff but also as a community leader. We have rallied with him. He has rallied with us,鈥 Jackson said. 鈥淏ecause of his strong Christian background, he has the level of integrity that he has. His character is great. We all have our own flaws. But we don鈥檛 see his because he strives to live a life of integrity before all people.鈥
When he was about 13 years old, Hash said he participated in a program that paired him with a white male mentor, or 鈥渂ig brother.鈥
鈥淭hey connected us together, and I said, 鈥楾hey鈥檙e going to put a Black boy with a white man? This ain鈥檛 going to work out. I鈥檓 from northwest, in the hood, Ferncliff. Like, what?鈥欌 Hash recalled. 鈥淏ut when I met him, he brought stability to my life, to a young African American boy that didn鈥檛 know how to golf, didn鈥檛 know how to play baseball, didn鈥檛 know how to fish.鈥
Hash said that relationship was the 鈥渢he best thing that ever happened鈥 to him. But he said some children today with parents trapped in the justice system don鈥檛 have the support that he did.
鈥淭hey have nothing to fall back on, so then you got the streets raising our kids now. And then what happens when they gets in the streets? It becomes a struggle on trying to be a man, or can I be a kid?鈥 Hash said. 鈥淲hen they don鈥檛 know who they are, they start to fail themselves.鈥
Hash said he tried his hand at several jobs before he was hired as a deputy in the 色多多 City Sheriff鈥檚 Office. In the four years directly prior to his election as sheriff, Hash worked as a school resource officer, or SRO, in city schools, including the . Principal Toni Belton said the students there were and are always happy to see him.
鈥淗e鈥檚 passionate about what they go through and what they bring to school, realizing that when they come, they鈥檙e bringing a lot of, some of them, trauma or baggage from home,鈥 she said. 鈥淗e鈥檇 be out there when the buses pulled up to see what kind of demeanor they had on their faces. That鈥檚 how well he knew the kids.鈥
鈥淎ntonio, when he was an SRO, made sure he had supplies in the trunk of his vehicle, his squad car, so if he saw a child in the school that didn鈥檛 have socks, he could go get a pair of socks out of his trunk. Fresh, brand new items,鈥 Jackson said. 鈥淭hat child would then turn around and their confidence level could be built up. ... It was just the goodness of his heart. His heart has always been bigger than him.鈥
鈥淗e was always coming out of his pocket just to do things for the kids and the community,鈥 Belton said. 鈥淚f we were having prizes, where we were awarding kids, trying to motivate kids by awarding them with bikes, he would get the sheriff鈥檚 department to chip in for several bikes, or he would come out of pocket.鈥
Belton said the academy .
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter where you grow up, or what kind of home or environment you come from, you can be a difference maker. And I think that鈥檚 what he does,鈥 Belton said. 鈥淗e sets the example and he鈥檚 not afraid to let you know that he knows where you are, because he鈥檚 been there.鈥
鈥淗e goes out of his way, above and beyond, to make sure others have some times what he didn鈥檛 have,鈥 Jackson said. 鈥淣ow that he has been strengthened, now that he has become better, he goes back to make sure he doesn鈥檛 forget about somebody else.鈥
Jackson said it was no surprise to him that Hash became sheriff. He was elected in 2021 after winning the Democratic primary for the position and was sworn in January 2022.
鈥淲e knew already his concern for those who are coming to court for court cases, and how he could professionally care for them as a friend, but also professionally secure them for his job,鈥 Jackson said. 鈥淚 have not seen him break protocol just because he knew somebody. I have seen him stay away from situations to make sure he did not influence a situation one way or the other.鈥
Since his election, Hash said he鈥檚 taken steps to improve communication between ranks and make positive changes to address deputies鈥 needs.
鈥淲e changed uniforms, because we ought to look like law enforcement,鈥 Hash said. 鈥淲hen you see brown sometimes, you think of corrections. We鈥檙e beyond just corrections.鈥
The sheriff also wants to provide his deputies with access to a gym.
鈥淔ire got a gym. The police department got a gym. Even 911 dispatch has a gym. But your sheriff鈥檚 office doesn鈥檛 have a gym on site. But you talk about health and wellness,鈥 Hash said. 鈥淚鈥檓 asking [the city] in this next fiscal year to give us the means to put a gym in the building, working with the judges on finding the space, so that way we can provide that resource so they can continue to be healthy and good for their families and good for their own lives.鈥
Hash has also prioritized the mental health of his deputies. This past spring, he gave them access to .
鈥淏ecause life is real. Death don鈥檛 stop just because we鈥檙e law enforcement,鈥 Hash said. 鈥淭his was a big deal to be able to offer this resource back to our officers and our deputies, and free of charge, no charge to them.鈥
In September, the sheriff also launched a reentry preparation program for 色多多 City Adult Detention Center residents called (R)I.G.N.I.T.E. In the last 10 months, 13 different programs, including GED and culinary studies, have seen nearly 700 detention center resident participants, according to the sheriff鈥檚 office.
Hash said residents who leave the facility may reoffend, but they鈥檙e staying out of jail longer than they have in the past because they鈥檙e using the resources provided to them.
鈥淪ome people are taking ownership of it, and some people are still in denial that they have an issue. And it hurts,鈥 Hash said. 鈥淚magined having all these tools. You got the table spread. You鈥檙e hungry. And you walk into a restaurant, and there鈥檚 food all over the table, and it鈥檚 free of charge to you, but you won鈥檛 even sit down to even eat.鈥
鈥淭imes are changing for the correctional setting to get people back on the right track,鈥 Hash continued. 鈥淗ow bad do you want your life to come back on track? Some people want it ASAP, but they鈥檙e scared of change, because they are so used to the cycle. And when you鈥檙e used to the cycle, you have to break the cycle, or you鈥檙e gonna have to repeat this process all over again.鈥
Jackson said the city needs more people like Hash.
鈥淲e need people that care,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e need people concerned about people, people who are concerned about our future, concerned about our children, concerned about our families, and concerned about our reentry of those who have been incarcerated, to make sure that when they come back into society, they come back as stronger individuals prepared to live better lives. And that speaks of Antonio Hash right there.鈥
鈥淚 am giving y鈥檃ll absolutely 100% of everything I do. When I wake up in the morning, a breathe sheriff. I go to bed at night, I breathe sheriff,鈥 Hash said. 鈥淲here much is given, much is required. You can accomplish anything that you set your mind to. You鈥檙e going to have naysayers. You might have people that say that you can鈥檛. But once you set your heart upon what you want to succeed in your life, then you have the responsibility to go get it.鈥
