A candidate for Fulton County Sheriff didn’t always want to be involved in law enforcement. Charles Rambo grew up in Gary, Indiana, and if you know Gary, you know that during the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, the city was dangerous. Police included. 

“I was not intending to join law enforcement,” said Rambo, who visited The Atlanta Voice offices earlier this week. Rambo enlisted in the United States Air Force following high school graduation in 1986. After eight years in the service, he began following his dream of becoming a mortician. “I wanted to attend mortuary school. I had no plans and no desire to move to Atlanta.”

Rambo may have begun his career pursuit at the Powell Coleman Funeral Home in Gary, where he worked from the age of 12 until he left town for the military, but Atlanta was where he would live for the entirety of his adult life and professional career. Rambo worked at the Murray Brothers Funeral Home, one of the city’s oldest and most connected Black-owned businesses in Atlanta. There he would rub elbows with city elites, including many who would steer him toward a career in law enforcement.

“That was my introduction to Atlanta; that was my introduction to families, politicians, and so on,” said Rambo. “I wanted to feel like I was putting my eyes on a future career.” 

Three weeks into working at Murray Brothers, Atlanta Police Department (APD) Sgt. Willie Cameron, one of the founders of the Afro Patrolmen League, was shot and killed in the West End. His family chose Murray Brothers to handle the preparation of the body and burial. Rambo recalls that decision changing his life. On Feb. 6. 1987, Cameron was just 39 years old when he was shot in the face during an altercation in a West End Mall department store where he worked a second job as security.  

“That was my first direct contact with law enforcement. People started encouraging me to think about going into…