Cheek for Sheriff

08/06/2024

I know people are tired of hearing about election stuff right now. I get it. It's been a rough few months here in Dallas County. For those of you who have supported me throughout my campaign, whether it was from the beginning or only recently, thank you. Those two little words don't really seem enough for the appreciation I feel for the people who have shared my message with their friends and families, and got out there to work on my behalf to get me elected the next Sheriff of Dallas County. I don't know that I will ever be able to show you all how grateful I am.

That being said, tomorrow, Tuesday, August 6, is essentially the finish line for this election. We all know there's no one on the Democrat ticket for Sheriff here, so whoever wins the primary tomorrow takes it all come November. No matter what the outcome is, I'll be here continuing to serve and protect the citizens of Dallas County to the best of my ability.

I've said many times during this election that everyone's vote counts the same, no matter who you are and it's true. It doesn't matter how much money you have, where you live, and what kind of work you do, your voice and your vote matter here in Dallas County. So make sure you get out and vote tomorrow to make sure your voice is heard, and make sure you remind your friends and family members to get out and cast their votes tomorrow too.

See you at the polls!

05/27/2024

For many people, Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of summer. Although there's been quite a few storms already this weekend, Monday looks like it's going to be a perfect early summer day. This weekend, as you spend time with your families and friends please take a moment to remember those brave men and women who lost their lives in service to our country. These men and women made the ultimate sacrifice to secure our freedom. I hope everyone has meaningful and safe Memorial Day.

05/23/2024

I just wanted to thank everyone for their support. I started putting out signs Wednesday and had so many requests that I completely ran out by Saturday evening. I have ordered more signs that should arrive by the end of the week. I have a list of folks who have requested signs and haven’t yet gotten one, and I’ll be getting signs to those folks as soon as I can. If you haven’t gotten a sign, and you want one, please feel free to send a Facebook message to myself, Torri Cheek or the Cheek for Sheriff page.

I’ve also noticed there’s been a lot of posts on the local Facebook groups asking questions about who I am and what I bring to the office. I’ve made several posts on the Cheek for Sheriff page talking about my values and how those will guide how I would run the Sheriff’s Office. Feel free to check those out, and if it doesn’t answer your question, or you have a concern, please let me know. This campaign, and the welfare of the county as a whole, are very important to me and I’ll be happy to visit with any member of the community that has a question or concern. I only ask that you have a little patience with me because, in addition to this campaign, I still am working 40 to 60 hours a week for the Buffalo PD and I also have family commitments. This week, I’m in Columbia, Missouri at the 18th Annual Family and S*xual Violence conference put on by the Missouri Office of Prosecution Services until today. Then I’ll be working 36 hours over the weekend for the police department.

Again, thank you everyone for your support. I can’t tell you how much that support means to me and my family. I look forward to continuing to serve the community, whether that be as Dallas County Sheriff or as an officer with the Buffalo Police Department.

05/14/2024

05/03/2024

I’ve been following what happened Saturday night, and I know a lot of you have as well. I’ve seen posts about it all over social media. I'm not here to rehash the whole situation, because people closer to the incident have already explained what happened better than I could. That being said, this incident is a great example of why I believe changes need to come to the Sheriff’s office, and the aftermath of this incident is exactly why I’m running for Sheriff.

I will be the first to say that my knowledge of the incident is limited to reading the Facebook post, reading the comments, and speaking with concerned citizens. I was not there and I have not seen any body camera footage. That being said, I have worked in law enforcement in some capacity in this community for more than twenty years. I know that deputies are human, and at the end of the day making mistakes is part of being human. However, how people respond to those mistakes is what makes all the difference. While I understand from social media the deputies did apologize for their role in the incident, I have heard that is where accountability stopped which is unacceptable.

I believe in taking accountability for my choices. As Sheriff, not only will I be accountable for myself, but also for my deputies because that’s what leaders do. Should I ever find out someone that works for me is involved in a situation like there was Saturday night, I feel that it’s my responsibility as Sheriff to immediately contact the family affected by the events and offer my sincere apology and an explanation of how I intend to make it right. Then, I’ll launch an investigation because you cannot have a resolution until you can figure out what happened. Once that investigation begins, the deputy or deputies involved will be put on administrative leave with pay until the investigation is complete.

In Missouri, the legislature has put into place a Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights. That law outlines the procedures that the agency has to follow whenever a law enforcement officer is accused of misconduct. There are procedures that have to be followed, and the officer has rights just like any other person accused of wrongdoing going through the justice system. For example, any law enforcement officer suspended without pay has the right to a full hearing. And just like in the criminal system, at that hearing, they have a right to a lawyer and a right to view the evidence against them. These procedures protect the officers, but it also protects the citizens and taxpayers from a later lawsuit filed for wrongful termination. I know it’s hard for the people affected to not have an immediate answer to what happens next, but I would much rather take my time and make the right call than to tell them what they want to hear when it’s not true. That’s not how you act with integrity, and those folks will eventually find out it’s not true and then you’ve lost their trust.

This is how I plan to earn and keep the community’s trust, by taking accountability and responsibility for my own actions, and the actions of my deputies because their actions reflect on my leadership. This is how I’m going to run a professional organization. I’ll show up in person, I’ll take responsibility for my mistakes, I’ll listen to what the people affected by those mistakes have to say, and I’ll deal with them with honesty and fairness. This is how I’m going to lead by example, because I can’t expect my deputies to do anything I wouldn’t be willing to do myself.

04/16/2024

Saturday night I had the opportunity to attend the Annual Lincoln Days dinner. Many of the Republican candidates running for office this year were in attendance and each talked a little about why they think they’re the best for the office they’re running for. I
also got to get up there and talk a little about why I want to be Sheriff, and some of the biggest challenges I see in making a better Sheriff’s Office. Being Sheriff is a tough job
and you have to make tough choices. That being said, I’m of the opinion that if you follow the laws of the State of Missouri and the Constitution of the United States of America, the rest of it will fall in line.
One of the big themes from all the candidates who spoke at the dinner was working to protect our children. I believe that that is probably the most important job our Sheriff’s office
has is investigating crimes against children. Children are the most vulnerable group of people in the community. One of the most fragile times in an investigation is when there’s a child victim is when they have first disclosed that they’ve been abused. I went to a
training recently about s*x offenders and how they think. The trainer said that the average s*x offender offends over two hundred times.
Hiring and retaining people with the kind of training and experience you need to jump right in and investigate these kinds of serious crimes is difficult - especially in a rural
area with a smaller budget. Without a full staff of highly trained officers and deputies that are ready and able to investigate that case, that child’s abuser can get away with what they did without ever facing any consequences. Successfully investigating these
cases requires hours and hours of specialized training and the experience to back it up.
Once the cases make it to prosecution in Dallas County, people convicted of crimes against children typically go to prison for long sentences. But not every county is like that. S*x offenders move into Dallas County from elsewhere all the time. That’s why
Dallas County needs a Sheriff that’s going to be aggressive about going after s*x offenders who aren’t keeping up with their registration requirements. People should know that if you move here, you’re going to follow the law or you’re going to get
prosecuted.
If I’m elected Sheriff, I will make it a priority to ensure that every deputy attends regular training in investigating crimes against children. And not just attend these trainings, but utilize the skills they have learned. The Sheriff’s office should always be
ready to go when the call comes in that someone has harmed a child. Because no child should ever lay in bed at night after disclosing that they’ve been abused and worry that
they haven’t been taken seriously, or that their abuser will come back because law enforcement hasn’t done their job.

02/28/2024

Today, I officially filed to run for Dallas County Sheriff on the Republican ballot. I did not take the decision to run for Sheriff lightly. I already know how much responsibility and commitment to the community it takes. I decided to run because I believe that the office of Sheriff is a position of trust and responsibility, and that to be successful you have to care more about the community that you serve than you care about yourself. The people of Dallas County deserve a Sheriff who shows that level of commitment every day, not just to the community, but to the people that work for them. I know I’m the right man for the job.

A lot of you already know me from my nearly twenty years in law enforcement here in Dallas County. Those of you that do know me, already know how committed I am to serving my community with respect and integrity. I hope to meet many more of you in the coming months, and am excited to talk with you about my plans for moving the Sheriff’s office in a new and better direction.

02/19/2024

One of the goals I have, if elected as Sheriff of Dallas County, is improving transparency at DCSO. For me, being transparent means giving credit those working hard to keep the community safe, while still making sure any information I give out is accurate as possible without jeopardizing the case.

That being said, I would like to recognize Buffalo Police Chief Chad Garner and Officer Matt Ramsey for their work on the Christopher Goodman case. Officer Ramsey originally responded to a yard fire, and once at the location of the yard fire, he noticed some additional fires in the area including a structure fire. Buffalo City Fire Department and Buffalo Rural Fire Department also responded and were able to get the fires extinguished.

Officer Ramsey canvassed the area for possible suspects and spoke to several witnesses. Based on the information he gathered, Officer Ramsey was able to determine Christopher Goodman was the prime suspect in the fires. Officer Ramsey made contact with Goodman and arranged to meet at the Sheriff’s office for an interview, while Chief Garner and several deputies from the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office continued to canvass the area for any additional evidence. A family member was able to transport Goodman to the Sheriff’s Office for an interview with the Fire Marshall.

Officer Ramsey and Chief Garner were able to work with the Dallas County Prosecutor’s Office to ensure they had everything they needed to submit charges on Goodman at which time Goodman was charged with two counts of arson in the second degree and two counts of knowingly burning for the fires he allegedly set inside the city limits of Buffalo.

Now, despite what you may have read on social media, as it stands today Goodman is only charged with the fires he is alleged to have started inside the city limits of Buffalo. At the time I’m posting this, there are no charges pending against Goodman in Dallas County Circuit Court for fires in any other jurisdictions.

Thanks to Officer Ramsey’s quick work and investigative skills, along with the assistance he received from Chief Garner, Buffalo City and Buffalo Rural Fire, and deputies from the DCSO, there were no injuries resulting from the fires, and no further property damage due to fire in the City of Buffalo. And thanks to the Prosecutor’s willingness to work with law enforcement, the Buffalo Police Department was able to present the best possible case against Goodman for charging.

I am always impressed by the willingness of our local law enforcement and fire personnel to come together and accomplish things as a team. And part of giving credit where it is due is recognizing that working cases like this requires a team effort. No one person can be solely responsible for this kind of result, and it does a disservice to everyone who worked on the case when one person tries to take full credit for work they didn’t accomplish.

As Sheriff, I’m going to make sure I regularly make time to tell the community about accomplishments our law enforcement and fire personnel are able to achieve together. I’ve said it before, and I’m sure I’ll say it again and again, these interagency relationships are vital to our ability to achieve results. And I promise to always give credit to the folks who make it happen, because an important part of having and keeping those relationships is telling the truth about what happened.

All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a Court of law.