The CBS Reports documentary “King of the County: The Power of Sheriffs” revealed that county sheriff’s officers are three times more likely to be lethal than city police, with fatal police violence increasingly occurring in small town America. A yearlong investigation documented chronic misconduct in sheriff’s offices, with oversight failures enabling abuses to go unchecked. Federal law enforcement data analyzed by CBS News showed that deaths in encounters with county sheriffs occur at a significantly higher rate than with police officers, with more than 27 deaths per 100,000 people arrested by sheriffs in 2022.
Former civil rights prosecutor Chiraag Bains emphasized the need to scrutinize sheriff’s offices as much as police departments, as the problem of sheriff misconduct is worsening. Sheriff’s officers are becoming increasingly deadly and taking on a larger role in policing American towns, with little accountability in place to hold them responsible. The unique status of sheriffs as independently elected officials empowered to take away a person’s life or liberty makes it difficult to enforce consequences for abuse. Despite claims of holding themselves to high standards, some sheriffs acknowledged the lack of accountability mechanisms for their actions.
The CBS News investigation uncovered instances of sheriff misconduct in smaller, remote communities with less training, resources, and oversight, allowing abuses to continue unchecked. In McCurtain County, Oklahoma, Sheriff Kevin Clardy was caught on audiotape discussing killing journalists who wrote about alleged corruption within his office. Despite ongoing civil rights lawsuits and allegations of misconduct, Sheriff Clardy remains in power without facing consequences. Instances of sheriff misconduct and questionable behavior were documented in 46 states since 2020, ranging from financial improprieties to excessive force and neglect of duty.
Law enforcement custody deaths in Oklahoma were found to be higher than any other state over a 40-year period, with officers often failing to report their use of lethal force as required by state and federal law. A lack of enforcement of reporting requirements under the Death in Custody Reporting Act has led to preventable deaths and killings while in government custody. Examples of sheriff misconduct spanned a range of criminal activity, from false arrests and theft to torture and fraud schemes, with many cases still ongoing without charges.
Sheriffs act as the primary law enforcement in over 3,000 rural counties across the U.S., with varying qualifications and election processes that often result in sheriffs retaining power for decades. While voters are intended to be a check on sheriff authority, elections have historically proven ineffective in addressing misconduct, particularly when targeted at minority communities. The Department of Justice has limited resources to oversee local law enforcement agencies, leading to few investigations into patterns of civil rights violations by sheriff’s offices. Both the Trump and Biden administrations have filed few cases against sheriff’s offices for civil rights violations, pointing to systemic issues that require attention.
