Sheriff’s Department – “Ship Without A Rudder”

The Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Deputies’ Association claims the Sheriff’s Department is a “ship without a rudder”. The association is announcing - click here to read the Association No Confidence announcement - 90 percent of it's membership is approving a vote of No-Confidence against Sheriff Richard Fuller III.

Association President Alan Miller says the decision to place the question before member Deputies in Kalamazoo County was approached with hesitation and lots of discussion among Deputies. Miller says the vote regarding Sheriff Fuller is being publicly released with some level of concern that the Sheriff may respond with retaliation, overt or subtle. Miller says the idea of publicly airing the Deputies' concern about the department runs somewhat contrary to the Deputies' dedication to their occupation and county residents. But Miller says the Association has no choice at this point.

Among the issues cited by the Association against Sheriff Fuller is concern about Fuller’s general leadership capability. The association’s media release says, “Under his leadership, morale has plummeted to depths never before seen at this agency. Under his leadership, new and veteran employees alike are leaving at rates never before experienced by this agency.” The Kalamazoo County Deputies Association believes the atmosphere within the department has gone too far south. Their release claims, “Sheriff Fuller has destroyed the positive culture within our organization and has developed a culture that can only be described as hostile and negative. Sheriff Fuller has demonstrated that his only concern is that of his public image.”

It cannot go unnoticed that the vast majority of the Association’s members are voting to approve the No-Confidence vote shortly before a critical election for the Sheriff’s position for which Sheriff Fuller is seeking re-election.  The Association points out, “The KCSDA has made requests, ad nauseam, to have discussions about settling a new contract and addressing employee issues. Our requests have been mostly ignored. His employees need a leader, a spokesperson, to speak out publicly on issues that are affecting the efficient operation of the agency and the valid concerns of the officers on the front line. If he cannot be that leader, then the KCSDA will fill the void and vacuum that we perceive has been created - and seek a new sheriff.”