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Questions raised in race for Mitchell County Sheriff
by David Namanny, Press-News Editor
As a result of many calls and queries concerning the campaign of Gary "Mick" Comisky for Mitchell County Sheriff and the qualifications needed to hold the office, the Press-News has conducted a bit of investigative reporting in recent days.
It should be noted that this is in no way intended to be partisan, but merely to respond to our readers who have demanded more information and to get at the facts.
Comisky, a longtime business owner in Mitchell County, is of course challenging veteran Sheriff Curt Younker who is seeking re-election Nov 4.
The main question folks have been asking about the campaign concerns qualification: Can someone actually serve as county sheriff with no law enforcement background or experience?
Here's what we've found out after a call to Arlen Ciechanowski, Assistant Director of the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy in Des Moines:
Comisky can indeed be elected Sheriff by the people of Mitchell County if he receives a majority of the vote.
However, within one year of being elected, Comisky must become certified as a law enforcement officer by the academy.
That's all fine and dandy, with the exception of the Code of Iowa, which sets minimum standards for Iowa Law Enforcement Officers.
While there are many chapters, wordy standards and much legal language in the Code, one category that may be a hang up for Comisky is in the category of "Moral Turpitude."
In a nutshell, it is a list of charges a person cannot have to be certified. Among those is domestic assault, which Comisky was charged with and convicted of in 1991. He paid a $90 fine and spent two-days in jail in July of that year.
"My best guess it would indeed become an issue if he has indeed been convicted of that violation," said Ciechanowski in a phone interview with the Press-News last week. "We've never had this issue come up before as to my knowledge, so it's new territory for us, but I would say there is a problem."
"Usually, officers are not hired if they have something like that in their background, and we've also de-certified officers that have been charged with moral turpitude issues while still on the job," he added. "So I think it may become a problem in this case."
Ciechanowski said that if not certified, Comisky would not be qualified to carry weapons or respond to many emergency situations, as the Code of Iowa demands of law enforcement personnel.
It is unclear what would happen if Comisky were elected, but not certified by the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy. He would either have to step down or not be able to do many of his duties while in office.
If he was to resign during his term, the first deputy would step in to take over until either a replacement would be appointed by the District Court, or a special election would be held to elect a new Sheriff, according the Mitchell County Auditor's Office.
During a call to Comisky last Thursday afternoon, he was well aware that he has a year to get certified with the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.
When asked about the previous assault charge getting in the way of his certification, he did not seem to be aware of the problem.
"I'll get back to you on that next week," said Comisky.
About the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy:
The Iowa Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) is an independent agency of the State of Iowa. It was created by an act of the Iowa legislature in 1967 to:
€ Maximize training opportunities for law enforcement officers,
€ Coordinate law enforcement training in Iowa
€ Set standards for the law enforcement service.
Such standards include most aspects of law enforcement, including weapons training, crime scene investigation, defensive driving, interviewing, first aid, CPR, public relations and report writing.
The academy provides residential training sessions varying in length from the 13-week basic training schools offered six times annually to one-day specialty and in-service seminars, and grants certification as Iowa law enforcement officers to those persons successfully completing basic training courses.
In addition, the academy provides training to jailers and administers a program of psychological testing of applicants for law enforcement positions, and keeps files on the more than 6000 active law enforcement officers in the state.
*All peace officers in the state who are granted authority by their jurisdiction to carry weapons must first be certified to do so by application to and approval of the academy council. The academy promulgates hiring, training and certification standards for Iowa law enforcement officers.
Story created Sep 30, 2008 - 11:55:34 CDT.
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