A man who mentored much of the current staff of the Lynchburg Police Department during his more than 30-year tenure died last week.
Ronald Coleman Sr., 68, moved though the ranks from a patrol officer on the midnight shift in the 1960s to the deputy chief of field operations. He also was interim police chief before former chief Charles Bennett was named to the position in 1994.
Coleman died Thursday. His funeral is today.
“He mentored well over half of the police officers that serve in the Lynchburg Police Department today,” Chief Parks Snead said on Tuesday. “I hope we are a fitting tribute to him.”
Coleman retired in 1997 after almost 34 years of service with the rank of major. He also commanded the special operations unit and trained new cadets in how to use their firearms.
“I’ve always been grateful for his skills as a firearms instructor, but also for caring for me as a person,” Snead said.
Coleman was part of the oral review board that made the decision to hire Snead as an officer when he applied. He remembered looking at the “rather large, physically imposing commanding officer.
“It made an impression on me,” Snead said.
His commitment to service led one of his sons, Ronald Coleman Jr., to join the Lynchburg Fire Department, where he serves as a captain. A grandson, Ronald E. Coleman III, is a Lynchburg Police officer.
“It’s neat that he got to see his grandson sworn in,” Snead said.
Snead remembered Coleman as a man who listened well and made decisions after careful thought. He was patient and firm.
“One of the few concerns he had in his career is that people would find out how much he cared,” Snead said. “He liked to play the role of the gruff police officer, but he really cared.”
In a 1976 article in The News, Lynchburg’s then-morning newspaper, Coleman talked about his first hours as a police officer, in June of 1963. He was assigned to the midnight shift with another officer who hadn’t been with the department that long himself.
There was a fire in the 700 block of Commerce Street within the first half hour that he was on duty.
“I was sent up to direct traffic, something which I knew nothing about and I was working to get things straightened out when I looked up and I saw this big interstate bus coming straight at me,” Coleman told the paper. “I was sure the driver didn’t see me.
“All I could think of was, ‘Oh Lord, and I haven’t even been a policeman 45 minutes.’”
In 1989, Coleman was awarded a meritorious service medal for his performance as the commander of the special operations unit.
He is survived by his wife Gloria Layne Coleman and as well as his children, Teresa Renee Barber, Ronald E. Coleman Jr., Martha Coleman-Craft, William Keith Coleman, Emily Lindanne Coleman and Tammy Coleman Mann.
“It’s a loss for us,” Snead said. “We talk a lot about being a family. We feel a lot in common with the Colemans in their loss.”
Coleman’s funeral will be held today at 11 a.m. at Thomas Road Baptist Church. Burial will follow at Fort Hill Memorial Park.
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