Media guy Patrick Callahan is the new Vice Sheriff in Hughes County.
Wait—Vice Sheriff? What’s that?
Well, in Hughes County, it’s apparently what the county commission hires when they want to bring in a replacement for Sheriff Darin Johnson to train before Johnson retires.
But statute doesn’t seem to recognize any “Vice Sheriff.” Statute authorizes deputies, jailers, and clerks, but they are all supposed to be appointed or removed by the sheriff. (Remember, sheriff is an independently elected position, so the sheriff gets independent control of the sheriff’s staff.) SDCL 7-12-9 says that if the county feels they need more personnel “for the prompt dispatch of business in the office of the sheriff,” the county must “by resolution fix the number of such deputies, jailers or clerks and the compensation which they shall receive.” Counties may also appoint constables, but those aren’t “Vice Sheriffs.” County commissioners may appoint replacements when vacancies arise in any county office, but Sheriff Johnson hasn’t vacated his office yet, so Hughes County hasn’t appointed Callahan to a vacancy; Hughes County has hired Callahan for a whole new job with no statutory definition.
But hey, maybe Hughes County is setting a good precedent. Maybe our sheriffs should have close titular partners at their side, the way TV says good cops should:
Of course, the county really ought to buy the Vice Sheriff a boat to patrol Lake Oahe:
Callahan worked for Governor Noem as her media director for just five weeks last summer. If Vice Sheriffing or Sheriffing doesn’t go any better, Callahan still has his Oahe TV business to pay the bills. (Hmm… I wonder if the chief county law enforcement officer is allowed to keep a business that makes money broadcasting meetings for other public bodies….)
A “vice-sheriff” to train before the current sheriff retires? What? Don’t we have elections for this sort of thing?
We should cautiously favor the notion. The candidate pool is small. Vice sheriff is also a winnowing process – not a fiat accompli.
The recent policing nonsense locally and nationally, in the recent past shows the nation and South Dakota must have far higher standards for law enforcement officers. Four-year degrees prior to or in conjunction with the LE academy is a start. Many forces must have social workers either on staff (larger jurisdictions) or on call (small jurisdictions).
And of course, teacher and law enforcement pay require realignment.
https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/nghzv7/oc_who_makes_more_teachers_or_cops/
I know I’ve defended Mike Volek, I knew the guy. What can I say, he couldn’t shine a flashlight down the road less than 100 feet to discover a body that your wonderful Attorney General couldn’t spot with his phone light. He didn’t test the man for alcohol or ask any questions, it was a deer right? This was a total dereliction of duty by everyone involved and he loaned him his own car to drive to Pierre. Imagine that if you can on. The vice sheriff idea for Hughes County might be OK to be Blunt about it. After all Pierre was simply 10 Highmores.
Yes Donald Pay, there was resistance and conspiracy theories. The resistance faded as well as most, not all, conspiracy. It took the man’s bible “popular mechanics’ I believe if remember correctly, to debunk the theories. So therefore it must be. Sadly, popular mechanics as lost most of its base to another oranger world.
Good memory DP,!
Well..I will say that the move to a Vice Sheriff as the current Sheriff intends to retire before his term is up shows foresight and initiative on the part of the County Board. Is it legal in the strictest sense. No. It probably is a case of “There’s no law which specifically prohibits the appointment of a Vice Sheriff.” Does that make it legal? I doubt it.
This seems like a really dumb idea. grudznick is not in favor of vice sheriffs and their ilk. Not in favor of them at all. What is there to keep the Pennington County commission, insaner than all get-out as they are, from ordering up a dozen vice sheriffs for Mr. Thom and deploying them all about to harass citizens?