Inaccurate, Ill-Informed Comments
May 3, 2018 at 5:56 p.m.
Editor, Times-Union:
Once again the facts do not fit the narrative.
I note that an individual in Tuesday's letter column made some harsh accusations against the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department and Sheriff Rocky Goshert.
Put simply, those accusations were inaccurate and ill-informed. As the current captain of the Sheriff's Department, I would like to set the record straight.
The letter writer stated that Sheriff Goshert announced our Jail Chemical Addiction Program on "April 20, three weeks before the election," and claimed that in doing so the sheriff was merely copying the ideas of State Trooper Kyle Dukes. That's not only incorrect but ridiculous.
We began meeting with the attorney general's office about JCAP in November of last year. Sheriff Goshert made a public statement to the media on the night of Nov. 30, announcing that he was considering implementation of that program. On Dec. 11, at the public "Community Call to Action" meeting regarding the opioid crisis, Sheriff Goshert again touted the program and announced that he would pursue its implementation in Kosciusko County. All of this is publicly accessible information. Just Google "Rocky Goshert" and "JCAP."
The sheriff's department has been aggressively pursuing implementation of the program ever since. On March 1, we traveled to Deaborn County, Indiana, to observe the program's operation in that county's jail. We have been working with the commissioners, applying for grants and coordinating with local service providers all year.
The letter writer also alluded to certain incidents within the jail. We currently house 300-plus inmates, most of whom, by their very nature, are trouble-makers. It goes without saying that, despite our best efforts, there will be incidents. But it would be a mistake to sit on our hands and say that there's nothing that can be done. After a recent jail inspection report – which was, on the whole, very positive – we determined that there was a need for additional jailers and a jail analysis. Prior to the results of the analysis, we requested funding for four additional jailers. The final analysis report recommended 11 new jailers, and we will soon be requesting funding in accordance with that recommendation.
The letter writer claimed to have "no confidence" in the sheriff's department under the leadership of Rocky Goshert. Speaking as someone who knows Sheriff Goshert and actually has his facts straight, I can say this with a high degree of confidence: Rocky Goshert is the best man to lead the Sheriff's Department for the next four years. He stepped into the role during a turbulent time and restored calm to a restless department. He hit the ground running and has been implementing programs that benefit all of the citizens of Kosciusko County. I will be voting for him next week with great confidence that he'll continue to be a strong and effective leader.
Chris McKeand
Warsaw, via ema
Editor, Times-Union:
Once again the facts do not fit the narrative.
I note that an individual in Tuesday's letter column made some harsh accusations against the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department and Sheriff Rocky Goshert.
Put simply, those accusations were inaccurate and ill-informed. As the current captain of the Sheriff's Department, I would like to set the record straight.
The letter writer stated that Sheriff Goshert announced our Jail Chemical Addiction Program on "April 20, three weeks before the election," and claimed that in doing so the sheriff was merely copying the ideas of State Trooper Kyle Dukes. That's not only incorrect but ridiculous.
We began meeting with the attorney general's office about JCAP in November of last year. Sheriff Goshert made a public statement to the media on the night of Nov. 30, announcing that he was considering implementation of that program. On Dec. 11, at the public "Community Call to Action" meeting regarding the opioid crisis, Sheriff Goshert again touted the program and announced that he would pursue its implementation in Kosciusko County. All of this is publicly accessible information. Just Google "Rocky Goshert" and "JCAP."
The sheriff's department has been aggressively pursuing implementation of the program ever since. On March 1, we traveled to Deaborn County, Indiana, to observe the program's operation in that county's jail. We have been working with the commissioners, applying for grants and coordinating with local service providers all year.
The letter writer also alluded to certain incidents within the jail. We currently house 300-plus inmates, most of whom, by their very nature, are trouble-makers. It goes without saying that, despite our best efforts, there will be incidents. But it would be a mistake to sit on our hands and say that there's nothing that can be done. After a recent jail inspection report – which was, on the whole, very positive – we determined that there was a need for additional jailers and a jail analysis. Prior to the results of the analysis, we requested funding for four additional jailers. The final analysis report recommended 11 new jailers, and we will soon be requesting funding in accordance with that recommendation.
The letter writer claimed to have "no confidence" in the sheriff's department under the leadership of Rocky Goshert. Speaking as someone who knows Sheriff Goshert and actually has his facts straight, I can say this with a high degree of confidence: Rocky Goshert is the best man to lead the Sheriff's Department for the next four years. He stepped into the role during a turbulent time and restored calm to a restless department. He hit the ground running and has been implementing programs that benefit all of the citizens of Kosciusko County. I will be voting for him next week with great confidence that he'll continue to be a strong and effective leader.
Chris McKeand
Warsaw, via ema