Carl R. Peed was raised in a law enforcement family. His father was a deputy sheriff and his brother was a police officer. Peed earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. He also holds a certificate of Criminal Justice Administration from the University of Virginia. Peed was a member of the Presidential Honor Guard during his service in the U.S. Army from 1970-1972. From 1972-1974 he was the Assistant Basketball Coach at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

 

Peed served with the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia for more than 20 years. He began working in the Office of the Sheriff in 1974. Peed was elected Sheriff in 1990, and was twice again elected to the position between 1990 and 1999.  In 2000, Peed was nominated to serve as the Director of the Department of Juvenile Justice in the Commonwealth of Virginia, where he managed 2,700 employees and a $237 million budget. On September 4, 2001, Attorney General John Ashcroft appointed Peed to be the Executive Director of COPS.

 

While serving as the Sherriff of Fairfax County in 1999, Peed was involved in a race discrimination case with two employees who charged that they were harassed and discriminated against due to race. When the employees, both Sherriff’s deputies, went public with their complaint, they were fired from the Sherriff’s Office. Ultimately, Peed was ordered by the Fairfax County Civil Service Commission to reinstate both deputies.

Peed’s Appointment - Press Release

Race Discrimination Case (The Multiracial Activist)

Peed’s National Civil Rights Symposium Speech – 2005 (PDF)

Testimony Regarding Nomination of Clarence Thomas (PDF)