BY JIM ROBERTS
COURTHOUSE — Alvie Culanding wrote and rehearsed a speech when he got his latest job promotion, but he still choked up when he delivered it in front of an audience and news cameras on Thursday, Oct. 5.
“I’m the very first Filipino American … chief deputy of the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office,” he said that day at City Hall.
In an interview, reflecting later on that moment, he said he was “taken back a little bit” at the meaning of those words.
“I started saying it,” he said during an interview. “I kind of paused a little bit. It didn’t hit me until then. I got a little emotional. … It meant everything to me to be thought of that way.”
Culanding succeeds Rocky Holcomb, the former state legislator and city councilmember who was sworn in as sheriff on Friday, Sept. 29. A special election in November 2024 will determine whether Holcomb completes the term begun by longtime Sheriff Ken Stolle, who has retired. The term ends in 2025.
“Chief Deputy Alvie Culanding represents the very best of the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office,” Holcomb said in a statement released by his office. “He has valiantly served the citizens of Virginia Beach for the last 26 years and will make an absolutely superb chief deputy.”
Culanding was born in Philadelphia, but his family moved to Norfolk and then settled in Virginia Beach when he was a teenager. His father, a Navy retiree, still lives in the Chimney Hill neighborhood. They see each other every Sunday.
Culanding graduated from Green Run High School and enrolled at Norfolk State University, but, with a few breaks and a variety of jobs, it took him nine years to earn his degree in psychology.
“When I met my wife, she kicked me into gear,” he said. “Everything came into focus. Career. Family.”
He worked for a year as a mental health technician at Norfolk Community Hospital before applying at the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office. As a deputy sheriff, he started in corrections and knew pretty quickly he wanted to stick with it.
“I knew I was good at what I was doing,” he said. “I knew how to treat people — number one — and not just my teammates, but the inmates as well. … I knew was making a difference. It grew on me. I just knew that I was built for it.”
Culanding moved into a training role and started earning promotions. He also earned a nickname, Cool.
“As you go higher in the organization, all eyes are on you,” he said. “I think that’s why the Filipinos made such a big deal that I made captain back in 2017 and now as a chief deputy, because you don’t see a whole lot of us in this line of work.”
As chief deputy of administration, Culanding oversees court security, training, human resources and finance. His counterpart, Chief Deputy Tina Mapes, promoted to that role this summer, oversees operations.
Culanding said his number one goal is “to make this a better sheriff’s office.”
“We can always improve,” he said. “We have committed to our citizens to make sure we uphold and provide the best service we can. That’s my goal — to make sure that our organization, our deputies, our workforce have the tools, equipment and training necessary to do their job. Once that is done, then we can better serve our citizens.”
Culanding noted that everyone in the office serves at the will of the sheriff, an elected constitutional officer. If Holcomb wins a special election in 2024, he will need to win the general election in 2025 to serve a full four-year term.
“That’s the one stressor I don’t like about the job,” Culanding said. “It’s not guaranteed. That makes it harder for the rank and file. We need to keep this place stable.”
Balance is also a priority, as evidenced by the only piece of art that hangs in Culanding’s office – a yin and yang symbol.
“You need to find balance,” he said, “or you go crazy in this line of work.”
Culanding credits his wife, Liza, and their four children for providing the balance he needs – and for the sacrifices they’ve made over the course of his career.
“Everybody in law enforcement and public safety, it’s part of our job,” he said. “I can’t do what I do without them. … Missing important events, birthdays, being able to travel, do anything … this doesn’t happen without them.”
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