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By Jonah Grinkewitz 

A Louisville Slugger sits next to a photo of a baseball field on the shelf behind Garrett Shelton’s desk. 

The bat, with the engraving “Garrett Shelton, Chief of Police, ��͹��Ƶ Police Department,” was a gift from his staff when he was promoted to the position in 2023. 

The photo is one he took at Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, Pennsylvania during the 2012 Little League Baseball World Series. 

“I've had this picture in my office since then as a display of my love for the game and a reminder that my ultimate goal was to one day umpire on the same field,” Shelton said. 

That dream came true this past August when Shelton crouched behind the plate at the same stadium for the 2025 Little League Baseball World Series. 

He umpired four games during the tournament, including a night game with more than 25,000 people in attendance, or a few thousand more than S.B. Ballard Stadium can hold. 

“You have to go out there and take it in,” Shelton said, describing the emotions of stepping onto the field in front of such a large crowd. “But after the first pitch, all the noise disappears and it’s a baseball game.” 

It’s not the first time he has had “butterflies,” as he calls it, in his career. Shelton spent 28 years in the Portsmouth Police Department, including time as a captain on the SWAT team where he was involved in more than 1,000 incidents. Before each mission, he would ask his team if they had butterflies. 

“I expected to see every hand go up; it didn’t matter how many times we’ve done it,” Shelton said. “Because if you didn’t have butterflies, you weren’t focused.” 

Preparation, though, is the key to keeping those butterflies under control, he said. 

Shelton joined the ��͹��Ƶ Police Department as a captain in 2015 and served as interim chief in 2022 before taking over the position in 2023. During that time, he has overseen the integration of the ��͹��Ƶ Police Department with the EVMS Police Department to ensure seamless public safety operations and the creation of the , which gives students and community members an insight into the day-to-day operations of the department, fostering a stronger connection with them. 

“Chief Shelton’s approachable style, emphasis on accountability and unwavering focus on community partnerships have strengthened trust and collaboration across campus,” said Jared Hoernig, director of emergency management at ��͹��Ƶ. “His leadership ensures that safety is not only about law enforcement, but also about fostering a supportive environment where students, faculty and staff can thrive and succeed.” 

From T-Ball to Training 

His love for baseball started as a child in 1968 in the Tuckahoe Little League in Richmond, Virginia. His move behind the plate didn’t happen until 1992, when his first son started playing little league. 

Although he tried coaching briefly, he didn’t want to be “that dad” pushing his child too hard in the sport. But when the league approached him about umpiring, he thought, “I get to be on the field, I love the game ... So, I started and I never stopped.” 

There was a learning curve, though, and he spent the next 10 years studying other umpires and improving his craft. 

“You think you can play baseball and you can umpire, but they are not the same world,” Shelton said. 

Then, in 2003, he went to a state tournament and saw umpires who had been in the Little League Baseball World Series. 

“I watched and thought, ‘I am way out of my comfort zone.’ They’re so clean, so crisp. That’s something I want to do. How do I do that?” 

So, Shelton started working to get to that level, going to umpiring training across the country. Altogether, he has participated in more than 100 Little League Baseball training events over the past 22 years. 

Two Shades of Blue 

While he was policing the plate on the field, his career in the police force continued. On a mission for a drug-related search warrant, the color of his uniform took on a new meaning. 

After securing the scene and taking off his ballistic helmet, Shelton heard a young boy’s voice say, “Hey, blue.” 

In little league, players often call umpires “blue” because of the color of their uniforms.  

It was a 12-year-old boy who played in the league where he was an umpire.  

“He came to me, we talked. He was scared, but he could trust me,” Shelton said. “Getting trust in the community with law enforcement is difficult, especially when you’re dealing with incidents like this. No longer was I the police officer in a SWAT uniform, I was the umpire at his baseball games.” 

Over the years, he saw more kids from the league on service calls, and some made it out of bad situations while others did not. 

Part of what drew him to umpiring was having a positive impact on children's lives.

“The biggest joy that I get out of it is giving the kids the opportunity to have an outlet,” Shelton said. “In law enforcement, we talk about giving kids outlets so they’re not out doing things they shouldn’t be doing.” 

The connections he made came full circle when he learned of his selection to umpire in the 2025 Little League Baseball World Series and got the text “Don’t forget to throw a knuckle ball” from one of his former players, referencing how he would often throw the ball back to pitchers.  

A Shared Passion 

While he was in Williamsport for the tournament, someone asked him what his favorite moment umpiring during his career was.  

You may have expected him to say now, being on the biggest stage possible. But for Shelton, it was umpiring one of his son’s games — something he rarely did because he did not want to appear biased.  

“I said, ‘Just know this. If it gets close to the plate you better swing because I’m calling a strike.’” 

His son had never hit a home run, but on one swing, Shelton knew right away it was out of the park. 

“I had to come out, watch him touch all the bases, and I will tell you that the tears were running down my face,” he said. “I wouldn’t even take my mask off, and I don’t know if he touched home plate because I couldn’t see it.” 

Shelton said he would not have made it this far without the support of his family, especially his wife, Leanne Shelton. 

In addition to spending countless hours at games, she learned umpiring mechanics and practiced with him at a field in Chesapeake, calling out different game situations for him to react to. 

“You can’t do this without a teammate, and she is most certainly the best teammate I could ask for,” Shelton said. 

In both areas of his life — umpiring and law enforcement — he said his family had to make many sacrifices. 

“My kids lived this with me from the day they started playing t-ball, and now my first grandchild played her first little league season,” he said. 

Shelton said having them in the stands behind home plate during the first game of the Little League Baseball World Series was all he could have hoped for.  

And of course, he remembered to give his wife their special signal — a tug of his ear — to tell her that he loved her.