Second in command at the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office is Chief Deputy Ron Abernathy. He has worked at the Sheriff's Office since November 1988 and began his law enforcement career as a detention officer. Chief Abernathy was promoted to deputy and worked Patrol before being assigned to Investigations. Upon being promoted to Sergeant he returned to the Patrol Division. When he was promoted to Lieutenant he supervised both Communications and Civil Divisions. He was appointed as Chief Deputy December 1998.

Chief Abernathy supervises the over all operation of the Sheriff's Office and has been directly involved in several key projects including a system wide upgrade of the computer aided dispatch system and implementation of mobile data terminals in the patrol vehicles. He has a variety of law enforcement experience as well as education. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama and a native of Tuscaloosa County.

Chief Abernathy is a recent graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, VA.