Smith Announces Candidacy For SheriffJames M. Smith, a Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Office deputy, formally announced he is seeking the Republican nomination for sheriff in the May 2022 primary election.
In a news release, Smith said he is an Army veteran with 16 years of experience in law enforcement. Smith graduated from Warsaw Community High School in 2000, then joined the U.S. Army Reserves, where he served for 12 years, including a nine-month tour in Kuwait and Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.
He served as a reserve officer for the Syracuse Police Department from 2005 to 2007 and then as a full-time officer for that department until 2011, graduating the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in 2008. In 2011, Smith began service as a deputy for the KCSO, where he continues to serve today. In 2017, he attained the rank of corporal.
Smith is a certified hostage negotiator, a certified field training officer, and a certified Indiana Law Enforcement Academy instructor for S.T.O.P.S. (Strategies & Tactics of Patrol Stops), a survival course designed to train officers to safely conduct high-risk tactical traffic stops, and E.V.O. (emergency vehicle operations). He formerly served as the Kosciusko County Reserve coordinator and is a member of the Rescue and Recovery Dive Team.
Outside of law enforcement, Smith’s community involvement includes membership in the North Webster-Tippecanoe Township Chamber of Commerce, the Leesburg Lions Club and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #149, in each of which he served a term as president or vice president. He is also a member of the Warsaw Morning Breakfast Optimist Club, where he serves on the organization’s board, the North Webster American Legion Post #253 and the Kosciusko County 4-H Swine Committee. He attends Warsaw Community Church and the Clunette Methodist Church.
Smith also serves as the GOP’s precinct committeeman for the fourth precinct of Tippecanoe Township. In 2018, he was elected to the Tippecanoe Township Board, where he currently serves as president.
Smith resides in Warsaw with his wife, Trish. They have two children: Zachary, 18, and Isabelle, 16.
Smith’s campaign slogan is “More Service, Less Politics.” In announcing his candidacy, Smith said that he intends to bring a common sense approach to the office, emphasizing the need for “effective law enforcement with a fiscally conservative mindset.”
