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By Jim Buice

For the Clemmons Courier

P.J. Stringer never dreamed of being a police officer when he grew up. In fact, the leader of Lewisville’s community policing program admits to getting into law enforcement by accident.

“I was in manufacturing at Unifi in Yadkin County,” he said. “It was a great job, and I had no desire to do anything else. I was a supervisor. I started off at the bottom and kind of worked my way up.

“Unifi was doing great, and then all of the sudden they started doing cutbacks, and as a non-college, non-military person, I thought, ‘What am I going to do?’ And I said, ‘I want to go into law enforcement.’”

So, why?

“I don’t know,” Stringer said. “Just the excitement and helping people, and I had a brother that fought addiction for his whole life, and it was something that just sparked an interest. I can’t explain it.

“My wife always says that I tricked her because it was right after our honeymoon I decided I was going to try to get into law enforcement. She’s like, ‘You tricked me.’ If I had not worried about my job, I don’t know if I would be in law enforcement. And my plan was just to have it to fall back on.”

Stringer, who is 52, started out by working part-time in the Yadkin County’s Sheriff’s Office in the jail and on patrol in 2005, and he then completed a night course at Surry Community College in Basic Law Enforcement Training while still working at Unifi.

“And then when I started doing it a little bit at Yadkin, I said, ‘This is nice. I like this.’” he said. “Every day was different. It has been challenging, but it has been so rewarding.”

Part of Stringer’s journey in law enforcement has been the opportunity to share his personal story regarding his brother’s addiction.

“I’ve seen what it does to families and not just the user,” he said. “As hard as it is, I like to share that story because I want other people to know that you don’t have to go through it alone. Just because I wear a gun and a badge and represent the sheriff’s office, I’ve seen the same struggles in life. I lost a brother at a very young age around 40.”

Stringer transitioned from Yadkin County to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office in July 2006 and admits he’s “never had a desire to go anywhere else” — after starting on patrol in the western part of the county before going to Clemmons in 2010 when there was an opening there.

Later that year, Stringer became part of a special task force to crack down on impaired drivers where he arrested about 600 individuals over the next six years until returning to Clemmons as a detective.

“I did a little bit of everything from robberies to death investigations,” said Stringer, who got promoted to corporal in Clemmons — and went back on the road along with becoming a shift supervisor — before arriving in Lewisville in 2018 with a diverse background of experience.

It didn’t take long for him to be promoted to sergeant and assume even more of a leadership role in Lewisville since Stringer arrived as a corporal, making him the supervisor with the rest of the force being composed of deputies.

“It was kind of unique that I came over here as a corporal, and that’s what this position had always been, but some of the assignments were really more on the level of sergeant,” Stringer said. “So the town came to me and asked why do we get people over here and all the sudden they leave. 

“I said, ‘They like to see the familiar face, but if you can come do the job as a corporal, obviously we’re going to promote you because you’re doing the same responsibilities.’ The town is after that long-term leadership role. So they made my position a sergeant about the time Sheriff (Bobby) Kimbrough came into office.”

Stringer, who also does some part-time work teaching classes at Forsyth Tech, said that he became a negotiator team leader earlier this year and has been a negotiator since 2015. He added that the negotiating team is deployed along with the SWAT Team for suicide and barricaded subjects. 

“The better term is crisis whether it is them or someone else to get people to a peaceful resolution and get them the help that they need,” Stringer said. “The ultimate goal is to save the life. It’s not just about kicking in doors. I’ve tried hard to not let this job make it seem like it’s me against the world.”

Mayor Mike Horn said that Stringer is the foundation of the town’s community policing efforts and knows the community, neighborhoods and residents in a special way.

“Not everyone is cut out for community policing as it requires a very different and much more personal approach to law enforcement,” Horn said. “P.J. combines professional competence, a dedication to providing exceptional law enforcement and a great sense of humor.”

Although everyone calls him P.J., his official badge says P.L.

So what gives?

“I’m a junior,” he said. “So Preston Lee Stringer Jr. Ever since I went into law enforcement, they put P.L. So only a couple of people, including my wife Carol, are the only ones who ever call me P.L., and that’s as a joke. My whole life has been P.J. in school and everything.”

Certainly, Stringer has settled in as the face of the force in Lewisville, and even though it’s quiet and peaceful for the most part, he admits “anywhere you go, you’re going to have crime.

“We’re pretty fortunate our community is so supportive, but we had a bunch of car break-ins several years ago in a neighborhood, and we had people bringing us cakes and pizza. So that means a lot.”

Stacy Tolbert, who is the town manager, said that Stringer is a dedicated individual who is devoted to the task of keeping Lewisville safe.

“He is an effective communicator and has built great relationships with our residents,” she said. “The town is lucky to have him as our community policing sergeant.”