Malcolm McLeod

Malcolm Gray McLeod (May 29, 1914 – June 3, 1987) was an American law enforcement officer who served as the Sheriff of Robeson County, North Carolina from 1950 to 1978. Born in Lumberton, he worked as a service station operator and a grocery salesman before deciding to run for the office of sheriff in 1950, pledging to modernize the office and crack down on bootlegging. He won, and in his early tenure worked closely with District Solicitor Malcolm Buie Seawell to destroy thousands of illicit alcohol distilleries and oversee hundreds of arrests for bootlegging. In 1958 he maintained order during a civil disturbance at the Battle of Hayes Pond. Over the course of his tenure the size of the sheriff's department expanded and he hired several black and Native American deputies. In 1971 McLeod established a drugs division in the department to combat the narcotics trade. At the time of his retirement in 1978 he was the longest-serving sheriff in Robeson County's history.