Wayne Davis serves as Sheriff of Henry County, Virginia, a position he first assumed on July 1, 2023, when he was appointed interim sheriff following the retirement of longtime Sheriff Lane Perry. A lifelong Henry County resident, Davis won the November 2023 general election to claim the office in his own right, carrying every precinct in the county. He runs as an independent.
Davis joined the Henry County Sheriff’s Office in 2000 at the age of 21 and rose through every rank within the agency over the course of more than two decades. His career has spanned patrol, criminal investigations, and specialized units including the SWAT team and the search and recovery dive team, both of which he eventually commanded. He spent 14 years in leadership and supervisory roles and logged over 2,000 hours of professional instruction, earning certifications in areas such as sniper instruction, defensive tactics, and active shooter response. He is one of only 29 sheriffs in Virginia certified by the Virginia Sheriff’s Institute.
Since taking office, Sheriff Davis has focused on expanding public safety initiatives across the county, including placing a School Resource Officer in every Henry County school, reallocating resources to target drug activity at the dealer level, and securing a $361,000 technology grant to implement an advanced license plate reader system. His command staff includes Chief Deputy Eric Hairston, Major Danny Harold, and captains overseeing the Professional Standards, Investigations, and Corrections divisions.
