{"id":37506,"date":"2024-09-25T14:57:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-25T14:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=37506"},"modified":"2024-10-20T16:00:08","modified_gmt":"2024-10-20T16:00:08","slug":"how-sheriffs-define-law-and-order-for-their-counties-depends-a-lot-on-their-views-%e2%88%92-and-most-are-white-republican-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/how-sheriffs-define-law-and-order-for-their-counties-depends-a-lot-on-their-views-%e2%88%92-and-most-are-white-republican-men\/","title":{"rendered":"How sheriffs define law and order for their counties depends a lot on their views \u2212 and most are white Republican men"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mirya Holman<\/a>, University of Houston<\/a><\/em> and Emily Farris<\/a>, Texas Christian University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Americans will find on their November 2024 ballot a space to vote for an important office: local sheriff. While there are exceptions, sheriffs have a long history of using their power to maintain a particular, unequal balance of power in society, often along racial and class lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent example of this arose on Sept. 13, 2024, when Bruce Zuchowski, sheriff of Portage County, Ohio, posted a message on a Facebook page headed by a graphic that included his official portrait and which was labeled with his official title<\/a>. Zuchowski called for the public to write down the addresses of people who have campaign signs supporting Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in their yards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That way, he said, when immigrants arrive and need housing, \u201cWe\u2019ll already have the addresses of the \u2026 families \u2026 who supported their arrival.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The post, which Zuchowski later claimed appeared on his \u201cpersonal Facebook page,\u201d used derogatory terms for immigrants and for Harris. It also included screenshots of two Fox News stories about migrants in Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio, which are both places that former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, and his running mate JD Vance have falsely claimed to be sites of dangerous activity by immigrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The header of a page Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski claimed is a \u2018personal\u2019 Facebook page shows him in uniform and carries his full title. Screenshot of a Facebook page<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\/
An Ohio sheriff posted an anti-immigrant message on Facebook. Screenshot of a Facebook post<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sheriffs in the U.S. don\u2019t often get national news attention, but Zuchowski\u2019s request was covered in The Washington Post<\/a>, NBC News<\/a> and The Guardian<\/a>, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are more than 3,000 sheriffs elected at the county level in the United States, each of whom has authority and autonomy to both set and enforce law enforcement policy. For example, sheriffs in many states can decide whether their deputies will wear body cameras and what happens to the footage recorded during routine stops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our book, \u201cThe Power of the Badge: Sheriffs and Inequality in the United States<\/a>,\u201d we provide a comprehensive look at this office and detail the history of sheriffs enforcing inequality both by using formal powers of their office, such as cooperating with federal immigration officers<\/a>, and with informal powers, such as communicating about who belongs in their community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zuchowski\u2019s post, which vilifies immigrants and targets people who support immigrant rights, is just part of that long history of sheriffs using their power as a tool of social control, as we document in our book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Various sheriffs have participated in social control throughout American history. For instance, in the 18th century, an Alabama sheriff ran slave auctions<\/a> and Georgia sheriffs played a central role in enforcing slave codes<\/a>. In the 19th century, a Pennsylvania sheriff quashed union efforts to protect workers\u2019 rights<\/a> against exploitative businesses. In the 20th century, Southern sheriffs\u2019 roles in voter suppression<\/a> during the Civil Rights Movement are well documented. In the 21st century, racial profiling<\/a> has been a problem in the enforcement of traffic laws<\/a> by sheriffs in Arizona and California, among other states. Zuchowski is just one 21st-century sheriff entering the debate over immigration policy<\/a> and immigrants\u2019 rights<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal views affect public service<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the wake of Zuchowski\u2019s post, The Portager, a news website in his community, reported residents saying the sheriff\u2019s post constituted voter intimidation<\/a>. Some residents have called for investigations<\/a> of the sheriff\u2019s office by local, state and national agencies, including the Department of Justice\u2019s civil rights division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, the Ohio Secretary of State\u2019s Office says the sheriff has broken no laws<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In both our book and previous work<\/a>, we document through two national surveys<\/a> how variations in sheriffs\u2019 views on race and ethnicity may shape their office\u2019s policies and practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zuchowski\u2019s comments about immigrants, including calling them \u201cIllegal human \u2018Locust,\u2019\u201d denies their humanity<\/a> by comparing immigrants to animals<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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