The Stark County Sheriff's Office is a law enforcement agency which serves Stark County, Ohio, United States. The county is 575 square miles and has a population of 375,432 and the county seat is Canton, Ohio.
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Responsibilities
The sheriff is charged with the responsibility of maintaining the public peace and protecting the lives and property of all citizens in Stark County. His obligations and responsibilities have continuously grown throughout the years. The duties of the sheriff have increased as administrative procedures, court decisions, and requirements of the law have brought about sophisticated and technical advancements to law enforcement. The Stark County Sheriff's Office is has five basic divisions which perform the varied duties required by Ohio law and the criminal justice system. These divisions are:
Contact Information
Stark County Sheriff's Office, 4500 Atlantic Blvd. N.E., Canton, Ohio 44705
Tel: (330) 430-3800
FAX: (330) 430-3844
Internet: http://starkcountyohio.gov/sheriff
Sheriffs of Stark County
1809-1811 Joseph McGuin
1811-1813 Thomas C Shields
1814 John Patton
1815 D.L. McClure
1816-1819 Moses Andrews
1820-1825 John Augustine
1826-1827 Timothy Reed
1828-1829 John Casky
1830-1832 Henry Guise
1833-1836 George N Webb
1837-1840 D. Raffensperger
1841-1844 John Brandon
1845-1846 Henry Shanafelt
1847-1850 George N Webb
1851-1854 Peter Deshong
1855-1856 R.A. (Al) Dunbar
1857-1860 Samuel Beatty
1861-1862 Daniel Sayler
1863-1866 Peter Chance
1867-1870 R.A. (Al) Dunbar
1871-1874 William Baxter
1875-1880 John P Rauch
1881-1884 Henry Alterkruse
1884-1885 James Lee
1886-1890 Augustus Leininger
1891-1893 Charles A Krider
1894-1897 Hiram Doll
1898-1901 John J Zaiser
1902-1905 Frank McKinney
1906-1910 R Frank Wilson
1911-1914 Adam W Oberlin
1915-1918 Frank K Norwood
1919-1922 Milo W Cathon
1923-1926 Charles W Kirk
1927-1931 Edward Gibson
1932-1933 Roscoe Oberlin
1934-1935 George A Daily
1936-1941 Joseph T Nist
1942-1949 Richard R France
1950-1959 Harry W Grossglaus
1959-1967 Wilton L Hine
1967-1980 George Papadopulos
1981-1984 Robert C Berens
1985-1992 J Babe Stearn
1993-1999 W Bruce Umpleby
1999-2013 Timothy A Swanson
2013 Michael McDonald (Elected but was unable take office due to health)
2013–Present George T Maier
The current Sheriff is George T. Maier, who was appointed by the Democratic party to replace Michael A. McDonald because of McDonald's failing health. Sheriff George T. Maier, was elected to the post of County Sheriff in November 2014 to fill the unexpired term of Michael McDonald. Sheriff George T. Maier was again elected to a 4 year term November 2016.
Hope Steffey incident
A local woman, Hope Steffey, sued the Sheriff's Office, claiming that male and female deputies used excessive force and assaulted her when they stripped her naked after she was arrested. Hope Steffey had called the police after she had been assaulted. Television station WKYC obtained video of the incident from Hope Steffey's attorney, shows male and female deputies forcefully removing the clothing of the handcuffed woman, before leaving her to sit naked in a cell for six hours. Police allege that Steffey had threatened to harm herself when asked if she was suicidal, to which she replied in the affirmative. Around November 2008, Hope Steffey initiated civil action against the Sheriff's Office. Stark County agreed to pay Steffey $475,000 in an out-of-court settlement in July 2009. Additional actions against related civilian contractors were later dismissed by the court.
Former Attorney General Marc Dann launched the state investigation into the Steffey case in February 2008 before later resigning for unrelated reasons. A Grand Jury subsequently declined to indict the county deputies involved.
Valentina Dyshko incident
Valentina Dyshko, a Ukrainian woman with limited English capability, filed suit alleging that she was the victim of a strip search by male officers at the Stark County Jail. This case was reportedly settled by the county in 2008.
Further victims and allegations
During the Steffey case, it was reported that 128 women had experienced these alleged strip searches, between 1999 and 2007. Privacy concerns prevented the identification of these women which led Steffey's lawyers to use billboards to encourage other women to come forward. Following the billboards and media reporting on the incident, five women, including Valentina Dyshko, came forward to report similar experiences with Stark County Sheriff's personnel. One of these women, "Elizabeth" (a pseudonym), was employed in a medium security jail and reported being accused of suicidal behavior and strip searched after being arrested for defending herself against inappropriate touching by a sheriff deputy during a traffic stop after she changed lanes without signaling. The sheriff accused her of failing a breath test when her asthma prevented her from blowing with sufficient strength. Only one case proceeded out of these five.