Office of the Chief of Police
Roanoke Police Department
348 Campbell Avenue S.W.
Roanoke, Virginia 24016
540.853.2203

Chief Booth started his law enforcement career with the Richmond, Virginia, Police Department in 1996, where he served for nearly twenty years.  During his tenure with the Richmond Police Department, he held positions as a patrol officer, undercover officer, detective in the Vice/Narcotics Units, SWAT team member, Honor Guard member, Firearm/drug enforcement unit sergeant, sergeant at the training academy, detective supervisor in the Narcotics Unit, Sector Commander, Watch Commander, Precinct Commander, Special Investigations Division Commander, Operations Major and Major in charge of the Office of Professional Responsibility/Internal Affairs.  While serving with the Richmond Police Department, Chief Booth focused on the reduction of violent crime, community engagement, and working proactively with neighborhoods to effectively recognize and respond to problems.

In August of 2015, he joined the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority in Washington, DC, where he served as the Deputy Chief of Operations and then as the Chief of Police.  Chief Booth worked closely with his federal partners in the National Capital Region (NCR) and focused on strengthening collaboration in the region and sharpening the agencies homeland security mission.  In July of 2017, he took a position with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security where he served as the Deputy Federal Security Director for the Charlotte, NC region, coordinating transportation security efforts for the Federal Government in western North Carolina until he became the Chief of Police for Danville, Virginia, in February 2018.  As chief in Danville, he focused on community engagement and reducing violent crime, specifically gang-related crime in the community.  During his tenure as Chief, Danville reduced overall violent crime by 52 percent and the agency became a recognized leader for its focused policing efforts and community engagement model.  In October of 2023, Chief Booth was sworn in as the Chief of Police in Roanoke, Virginia.

In 2020, Chief Booth was awarded the Excellence in Policing Award from Radford University’s Center for Police Practice, Policy, and Research, and in 2022, the Excellence in Virginia Government – Innovation in Government Award from the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University.  Additionally, in 2023, he was recognized by the National Gang Crime Research Center with the Frederic Milton Thrasher Award for Superior Leadership in Law Enforcement for his work in reducing gang-related crime in the community.

Chief Booth has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond in Human Resource Management and Leadership Studies, a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a doctorate in Criminal Justice from Pennsylvania Western University.  He is a graduate of the 268^th session of the FBI National Academy, the 48^th session of the Police Executive Research Forum’s (PERF) Senior Management Institute for Police (SMIP), and VACP’s Professional Executive Leadership School (PELS) at the University of Richmond.  He currently serves as a member of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police (VACP) executive committee (Vice President), Vice-Chair of the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission (VLEPSC), and as a member of the Forensics Committee for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).  He is a proud veteran of the United States Army as well as Operation Desert Storm, where he was awarded the Combat Infantryman’s Badge.