Roland H. Herndon Jr. is the Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Columbus Field Division, with operational responsibility for Ohio and the southern judicial district of Indiana. ATF is a key law enforcement agency within the U.S. Department of Justice that protects the public from violent crime, violent criminal organizations, illegal firearms trafficking and possession, unlawful storage and utilization of explosives, acts of arson and bombings, acts of terrorism, as well as the illegal diversion of alcohol and tobacco products. The men and women of ATF perform the dual responsibilities of enforcing Federal criminal laws and regulating the firearms and explosives industries to protect the public against violent crime and other threats to public safety.

 

Prior to his appointment as SAC, Special Agent Herndon was appointed Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Columbus Field Division responsible for ATF enforcement actions, supervising offices in Columbus, Ohio, Cincinnati, Dayton, Indianapolis and Evansville, Indiana.

 

Special Agent Herndon also served as the ATF Assistant Country Attaché at the American Embassy, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and spent time in Headquarters in the Human Resources and Professional Development Directorate in both training and recruitment and hiring, responsible for all Special Agent and Industry Operations Investigator recruitment and hiring programs.

 

He came to ATF in March 1999 as a Special Agent in the Detroit Field Division. Over the course of his ATF career he worked as part of the Detroit Violent Crimes Task Force, served as the Resident Agent in Charge of the Ann Arbor Field Office, and as a Supervisory Special Agent with the Arson and Explosives Group, where he founded the Fire, Explosives, Arson, Response (F.E.A.R.) Task Force.

 

Starting in 1991 he served eight years with the U.S. Customs Service starting in Chicago then moving to Toronto, Ontario, Canada where he was later assigned to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Drug Squad.

 

In 1985 he joined and served in the United States Marines Corp Reserves as an Infantry Communications Sergeant. He is a veteran of the Persian Gulf War and received degrees from Southern Illinois University and the University of Phoenix. He is a member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.