Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall, the longest-serving sheriff in the history of Nashville, Tenn., announced Wednesday that he will retire, stepping away only months after voters handed him a seventh term.
Hall, 62, has spent 35 years in public service. According to the sheriff’s office, his last day will be Oct. 19, and he is leaving for a private-sector opportunity that requires him to be out of office by November 1. No details about the new job were released.
The sheriff’s office describes Hall as both the youngest person ever elected to lead it and the longest serving in city history. Voters elected him to seven terms, most recently this year, when he ran unopposed.
The Metro Council will appoint an interim sheriff in November, and the office will then go before voters on the ballot in 2027.
In announcing the move, Hall said he believes the office is well positioned for the future with experienced leadership, and he pledged to help ensure a smooth transition both before and after he leaves.
Among the accomplishments Hall has pointed to is the creation of the Behavioral Care Center inside the city jail, a diversion program the office describes as aimed at decriminalizing mental illness. He also oversaw construction of a new downtown jail.
The timing places the transition near an end-of-year deadline set by the state legislature requiring every sheriff’s office in Tennessee to sign a formal 287(g) agreement with federal immigration authorities. Nashville once had such an agreement, but Hall ended it, and he has previously said Davidson County was exempt from the state law.
The Council’s choice of an interim sheriff will lead the office through that period until Nashville voters pick a permanent successor next year.
