Sheriff David E. Abston

Pickens County was officially designated by the Alabama State Legislature December 19, 1820 and named after General Andrew Pickens, a Revolutionary War Hero.  Pickens County is 890 square miles of rural forest and livestock lands on the midwestern state border alongside Mississippi.  Lamar and Fayette Counties border Pickens County on the northern line while Tuscaloosa County borders our eastern line and Green and Sumter Counties border our southern line.

Sheriff David Abston was first elected in 1987 and served 7 terms.  He began his Law Enforcement career with the United States Army Military Police.  He later attended the University of Alabama Law Enforcement Academy.  He has served with the Tuscaloosa Police Department as a Patrolman and as Chief with the Gordo Police Department from 1980 through 1986.  Sheriff Abston graduated the Federal Bureau of Investigation Academy in 1996.