CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia State Police Superintendent Jay Smithers plans to retire, effective Friday.
Smithers has served as State Police superintendent since being appointed by Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin on March 16, 2011. He has more than 40 years of law enforcement experience in West Virginia. His predecessor as superintendent was Col. Timothy S. Pack, who retired in 2011.
“It has been a privilege and an honor to serve the citizens and visitors of the state of West Virginia during my law enforcement career spanning more than forty-three years. Public service in this profession has afforded me the opportunity of meeting and working with many exceptional people, some who will remain life-long friends, as well as providing me with many memorable experiences, both positive and negative,” Smithers said in a statement released Wednesday. “I was and continue to be most humbled by the confidence and trust Governor Earl Ray Tomblin placed in me and my ability to lead the West Virginia State Police. May God bless the Great State of West Virginia.”
Before he was named superintendent, Smithers was director of the West Virginia Division of Protective Services, Capitol Police.
Prior to that, he was a captain with the State Police, where he also served as a member of the senior staff.
During his time in state government, Smithers rose from field trooper to captain in the State Police following his graduation from the academy in 1973.
He was appointed Director of the Division of Protective Services July 2005 and had been with the division since its inception in 1998.
A Sissonville native, Smithers completed his undergraduate work at West Virginia State College (now University), where he earned a regents bachelor of arts degree in criminal justice. He continued his graduate work at Marshall University, where he earned a master of science degree in occupational safety.
He is also a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and completed a hazardous device course for the FBI at the U.S. Army Ordnance Missile and Munitions Center and School located at Redstone Arsenal Army Base in Huntsville, Alabama.