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Sheriff candidate Ron Heeg highlights mental‑health, CIT training and donated K‑9 unit
Summary
Incumbent sheriff Ron Heeg said mental illness and drug abuse are the county’s biggest problems, described a high rate of Crisis Intervention Team training among deputies, and said the K‑9 unit is funded entirely by donations with no taxpayer dollars used.
Ron Heeg, the incumbent La Porte County sheriff and the lone sheriff candidate at the forum, framed mental‑health and substance abuse as the county’s most pressing public‑safety challenge and outlined departmental responses.
Heeg said approximately half of people jailed take psychotropic medications and argued the county jail is not a treatment facility. He described Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training as a departmental priority and said about 80% of officers in the department have completed CIT. "We're one of the highest in the state of Indiana with the number of officers... that are trained with the CIT training," Heeg said.
On accountability, Heeg described the sheriff’s merit board (the department’s existing independent review board) as overseeing hiring, firing and discipline, and said body cameras have reduced complaints. He told voters the sheriff’s K‑9 unit—three narcotics dogs and one bomb dog—is funded wholly by donations and veterinary care donated by local providers; "no taxpayer dollars" were used for the program, he said.
Heeg also noted the office has brought in grants and used seized funds to invest in equipment and services the department uses. He closed by reiterating his experience and pledging continued focus on community investment and officer training.
