At a time when Law Enforcement Officers in America are under constant attack in the American culture wars, those who protect and serve our communities at home need strong advocates. More importantly, at a time when the law has become political, America’s law enforcement communities need strong leadership.

In Jefferson County, Alabama, residents have a chance to elect exactly that.

Decorated Navy Seal Veteran and tactical law enforcement instructor, Jared Hudson, has decided to take on his opponents in a historically liberal county in a run for Jefferson County Sheriff.

After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Hudson was compelled to find a way to serve his community. After high school he trained to become a firefighter. But something else was calling him, he told Law Enforcement Today.

As Hudson recalls, he felt a heavy calling from God to join the military. And he decided to try for the elite Navy Seals.

After deploying abroad and serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Foal Eagle, Hudson eventually retired from the military and went into local law enforcement. But that experience was short-lived.

“I realized relatively quickly that I did not like the low-level politics of local law enforcement.”

Operational decisions being made based on political considerations instead of fighting crime, drove Hudson from local law enforcement. He then went on to found The Shooting Institute.

Law Enforcement Today notes:

“The contracts began coming in from around the nation, from agencies such as Bergen County, NJ, the New York Police Department, and the Indianapolis PD, which hired the company to train officers in tactics and shooting.”

Eventually, Hudson became a reserve for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, even training the SWAT team.

He also started a faith-based organization to combat the injustice of human trafficking, called the Covenant Rescue Group.

Now, Hudson hopes to be the leadership the Sheriff’s Department needs in an era of anti-law enforcement politics. He hopes his sense of humility from his faith and years of military service can be an example for law enforcement across the nation.

“We need people in a leadership position who are willing to say, ‘Hey, I don’t know what we’re doing when it comes to X, Y and Z.”

On his campaign website, Hudson expands further on his motivation for running for Sheriff:

“…I feel called to provide those services of leadership and skill to my own community, which I share with you. As a Christian, husband, father of three daughters, and member of this community, I am ready to protect this community and make it a safe place for all of our families to thrive without fear.

Some of Hudson’s top priorities, as listed on his campaign website are Constitutional Freedom, Accountability, Organizational Transparency, and Impartial Policing.“

Above all else, equal application of the law is Hudson’s main priority.

“We don’t care if the crime comes from the highest member of society in Jefferson County. I don’t care if the crime comes from the lowest member of society in Jefferson County….

We are going to police them equally.

If they are in there breaking the law, in particular raining on the Constitutional freedoms or the Constitutional rights of the citizens of Jefferson County, no matter who they are, we’re gonna get them. That is impartial policing.”

One of this organization’s top priorities has been supporting Veterans running for political office for their fidelity to this very concept of protecting the Constitution. While political office holders do that through the legislative process, police and other law enforcement accomplish this goal through applying the law equally. Veterans often make great legislators for their capacity for a non-partisan approach to lawmaking, and in the case of Jared Hudson, the integrity of Veterans and their oath to protect the Constitution of this country can bring much needed faith back into law enforcement.

Image Credit: Jared Hudson Campaign Website

The number of Veterans serving in government, specifically Congress, has thinned over recent decades. There are perhaps a variety of factors, from access to political networks to the immense amount of fundraising necessary to compete against the Washington machine, but the simplest reason may also be the most significant.