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Filipino-American Alvie Culanding named chief deputy sheriff of Virginia Beach

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Monica Galozo | TFC News Virginia

<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jLgbDcVNvd4?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>Filipino-American Alvie Culanding has been named the chief deputy of the Sheriff&#x27;s Office of Virginia Beach.Culanding, who holds the rank of a captain and has been in law enforcement for 26 years, is the first FilAm to ascend to the post in the entire state of Virginia.&quot;It feels kind of surreal,&quot; he said. &quot;I had never imagined myself being in this kind of position, an executive leader position, but it&#x27;s long. I worked really hard to get where I am at.&quot;Culanding began his career in law enforcement at the VBSO in 1997.After several promotions, he became the first filipino captain of the same office in 2017. In that capacity, he commanded the correctional support and court security divisions.Virginia Beach&#x27;s sheriff, Rocky Holcomb, said Culanding’s promotion was well-deserved.&quot;I worked with him for 25 years and he is an awesome public servant,&quot; said Holcomb. &quot;He gives his heart every single day when he comes to work.&quot;As deputy chief, Culanding will oversee VBSO administration, which includes court security, training, human resources and finance.Culanding hails from a family whose heart is in public service. His father is a retired U.S. Navy sailor, while his siblings are also in law enforcement and in the military.Both shared that they take pride in his promotion.&quot;He worked so hard to get there,&quot; said Albert Culanding II of his brother, &quot;when we started at trying to just make it through life to where he is at now. It is very proud and humbling.&quot;Culanding&#x27;s promotion proved timely with the celebration of Filipino-American History Month.He expressed hope that there will now be more representation for not only FilAms, but Asians as well, in U.S. law enforcement.&quot;It is a point of pride for the Filipino community because there is not a whole lot of us at this position,&quot; Culanding added. &quot;They feel like they are represented.&quot;But Culanding is not only Virginia Beach sheriff&#x27;s new deputy chief. He also serves the community in other ways, including as co-founder of the Filipino American Law Enforcement Officers&#x27; Association of Virginia.Sheriff Holcomb encouraged Culanding to continue the work he has done for Virginia Beach.

Culanding is the first Fil-Am to ascend to the post in the entire state of Virginia.