Depends on the state. In the west, sheriffs still have a lot of power dating back 100-150 years. In Washington, the Sheriff is supreme legal authority in the county superceding even the state police - and the only person that can arrest him is the county coroner.
What the hell? Really? A county sheriff can trump the governor?
Yep. There once was an incident in a small Washington county involving the State Patrol. Long story short, the Sheriff wanted WSP out of his county and they had to leave.
That’s odd. Essentially a sheriff can elect not to enforce certain state laws and the state has no recourse? For example, I recall hearing at one point in Sacramento County history (late 1800s), the local authorities overlooked either gambling or prostitution laws in the town of Locke. I can’t recall if the cops were on the take. Anyway, occasionally, the state police would come in to break up the festivities knowing the local police were disinterested in enforcing state law.
This sounds like a reasonable thing to do when crafting a legal power structure in a state. The modern equivalent might be a local sheriff refusing to enforce marijuana laws and the state would be powerless to trump the sheriff? Wow.