NEWS RELEASE
Donald Zehner for Sheriff
Photo: PhotosbyAndy / iStock / Getty Images
Donald Zehner wants to promote Improvement through Integration in the Richland County Sheriff’s Office with a variety of other local and county agencies team partnerships. As a Sheriff’s Office employee, starting as a Corrections Officer in 1993 rising through the ranks prior to his transfer to the Law Enforcement Division where he again worked his way through the ranks to become Captain of Road Patrol Deputies, Community Policing Deputies, Northern Ohio Fugitive Task Force Deputies, School Resource Deputies and detectives. His 30 years of service have given him a broad experience base to create his vision for improvement. Mr. Zehner holds a valid Ohio Peace Officer Commission and is a 1990 graduate of Hocking Technical College with an Associate Degree in Fish and Wildlife Management.
The first course of action would be to add an office to work from at the Jail Building next to the Court-house while also maintaining an office at the People’s Building. The majority of the Sheriff’s Office employees work at the jail which would give them better accessibility the Sheriff. The inmates also would benefit from the Sheriff being able to see who they are and that the necessary services that he envisions are being provided such as enhancing mental health services and adding to medical and substance abuse screening for the inmate book-in process which would assist in identifying potential at-risk inmates during the book-in procedures.
Next would be to create a Behavior Response Team (BRT). This would comprise working with various agencies throughout the county including the Courts, Law Directors, Prosecutor’s Office, Catalyst, Richland County Children’s Services, the Veteran’s Commission, the Mansfield Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program (UMADAOP), NAMI, Richland County Mental Health and Recovery Services and Newhope, to name a few, to engage with those incarcerated or who have been incarcerated. This would involve a response into the community to find the root cause of the behavior causing individuals who come in contact with the Sheriff’s Office. The BRT members will respond to calls for services related to mental health illness, PTSD and substance abuse issues. The BRT will identify through calls for service those within the community who are continually accessing law enforcement services and conduct outreach follow-ups to provide necessary services to those individuals identified).
The last action of the new Sheriff would be to add an explosive detection dog to the existing K-9 pro-gram so that the explosive and gunpowder detecting capability of the K-9 team would be available to all local area agencies. By sniffing out gunpowder, they would have the capability to not only find ammunition but also detect the ammunition that might be loaded in a firearm in efforts to thwart the continued gun violence all communities are seeing. Working with various law enforcement agencies and school districts, the impact of having weapons in the hands of juveniles could hopefully be reduced. The creation of the explosive detection canine team will promote community safety through prevention and detection demonstration. The canine team will enhance security within our local educational facilities through preventative detection sweeps for firearms and ammunition, in containers, lockers, vehicles and on persons. This detection sweep will include government facilities and public entertainment venues. The team will enhance evidence recovery by assisting on crime scenes involving firearms and the locating of firearms and spent ammunition casings used during the commission of the crimes.
Donald Zehner looks forward to his campaign to become your next Sheriff of Richland County. May God Bless Richland County and God Bless America!