Sampsel adjusts to new role as Centre County sheriff

In a business card holder, perfectly positioned in the upper-middle portion of Bryan Sampsel’s desk, you’ll find a stack of new, shiny business cards that read “Sheriff” in bright red letters.

It is a title Sampsel is still getting used to. After 13 years under his predecessor, longtime sheriff Denny Nau, the Bellefonte Area High School graduate has stepped into the role of Centre County’s top cop.

“I don’t let it get to my head. It feels different. It’s something to get used to,” he said.

Next to the cards is a photo from Sampsel’s wedding day, a constant reminder of family — something that matters dearly to him.

“This September we will have been married for nine years,” he said, with a big smile on his face.

Many men have a difficult time remembering their anniversary dates, but Sampsel is meticulous with time. He even remembers the date he asked his wife, Ruth Ann, to marry him.

“It was exactly nine years ago, a week from Sunday. I took her to Otto’s and asked for her hand in marriage,” said Sampsel.

Two years later, they welcomed their first child, Hannah. Five years after that, they had a boy, Cole.

Being a husband and a father is Sampsel’s first job, and it has prepared him for his encounters with the people who he deals with as a law enforcement officer.

This is especially true in matters pertaining to children and families.

“It’s difficult, I always tell people, when I’m serving a protection from abuse order, that I don’t like this part of my job. I don’t like telling people they aren’t going to see their kids for 10 days.”

These can be some of the most stressful and trying days for a law enforcement officer.

“I have a family, and I like to see my kids every single day,” Sampsel said.

He pressures his staff to be smart and make the right decisions.

“I tell my staff to watch what they do, everyone has a cellphone these days, everyone has a camera,” but “it’s ... what you do when people aren’t watching that counts. If you won’t do it in front of people, don’t do it when they aren’t watching,” Sampsel said.

The office is responsible for serving all of the documents for the county court and district judges. That means about 3,000 civil processes per year, plus another 200 to 300 protection from abuse orders and 500 or so warrants. They also transport an average of 3,500 inmates each year between jails, prisons and courthouses.

Sampsel has interacted with thousands of inmates.

Some, he says, he will never forget.

Jerry Sandusky, retired Penn State defensive coordinator, convicted of child sex abuse in 2012, was one.

“I was with him a few times prior to the hearing. He was very cordial to us. It was like talking to your grandfather, to me it was. We didn’t discuss his case, but we talked about football stuff. He was very respectful to me.”

Lavon Chisley, the Penn State football player convicted of murdering Langston Carraway in 2006, was another.

“He was also very respectful to all of us, and we never had a problem with him,” Sampsel said.

Some may wonder why anyone would even want to talk to someone charged and convicted in such crimes, but that’s not Sampsel.

“I guess I’ve taken myself out of it. Everyone has a past, something they’ve done. I treat people the way they treat me. ... They were never disrespectful to me,” he said.

For Sampsel, judgment doesn’t belong to him.

“If they’ve never been a problem to us, we don’t let our mind go to what they’ve done. I don’t think about that part. I treat them as people, decently. That’s my job to do,” he said.

He also believes that people are not defined by the single actions they take, even if these actions are against the law.

“Despite the fact that someone is accused or charged with an egregious crime or not, convicted or going to be convicted of, I treat them with respect. They are still human beings. Their actions on the day they committed the offenses does not relate to the behavior we see in them sometimes,” Sampsel said.

When asked what some of the biggest dangers Centre County faces, Sampsel names drugs, particularly opioids.

“It’s bad here, but it’s really bad all over Pennsylvania. It’s becoming an epidemic right now,” he said.

Sampsel has a front-row seat to drug abusers, sellers and users.

“I see what happens after almost 13 years here, I see people I saw my first, second and third years here and if they are a drug user, you can tell what drugs people use by the ways they change their appearance. It’s sad.”

While he says that he misses being out of the office, he also says that he loves what he does now.

At least he is getting to spend some more time with the two eight-point bucks that are displayed on his office walls, instead of in his basement where they were previously held in captivity since he got married.

This year, Sampsel hopes to incorporate more technology to increase his department’s efficiency. The office will also be given authority to carry and use Tasers.

“Tasers give us a less lethal option if anything would ever occur. We also hope to integrate computers in our cars by the end of the year. This will allow us to network with the rest of Centre County law enforcement.”

While Sampsel no longer serves warrants, his experience has come in handy with shaping policy to keep the public and deputy sheriffs safe, when they do.

“At least two people go out and serve a warrant,” he said. “We try to locate the people if they didn’t show up for court, try to go out and find where they may have moved, if they go out of state.”

Sampsel has witnessed how the evolution of technology has made his job easier, even using social media as a tool to locate individuals.

He said that he puts on his uniform and badge every day for a reason, a reason greater than himself.

“I decided to be a cop because I enjoy helping people. This is a dangerous job from military to law enforcement. We like what we do because we like making our families proud. I like making my daughter proud.”

This story was originally published February 14, 2016 at 11:27 PM with the headline "Sampsel adjusts to new role as Centre County sheriff."