by James Coulter
Sheriff Grady Judd is a man who needs no introduction. Chances are, many Polk County Residents don’t know the name of their own city’s mayor or county commissioners, but they know and revere the name Sheriff Grady Judd very well.
For more than 50 years, Sheriff Judd has served in the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. He started humbly enough as a dispatcher in 1971 before working his way up the career ladder to his current position as sheriff, which he has faithfully served for 20 years.
Aside from serving as the sheriff, Grady Judd has also participated in various local causes and fundraisers, including the upcoming annual Jeepin with Judd event, to be hosted at Clear Springs Ranch in Bartow this weekend from Fi. Feb. 22 to Sun. Feb 24.
The Honorable Sheriff Grady Judd recently sat down with us for an exclusive interview where he discusses his career and legacy as one of Polk County’s most revered public officials. Here’s some of what he had to say:
Q: Sheriff Judd, you have served in the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for more than 50 years, and you have served as sheriff for nearly 20 years. How does it feel to have worked that long to protect and serve your community?
A: I always wanted to be a sheriff ever since I was a little bitty guy. I always believed that this was my mission field. I felt that this was God-inspired. Sheriff Brandon hired me when I was 18 as a dispatcher, and then I was a deputy, and then a corporeal and a sergeant and a lieutenant and a captain and a major and a colonel over operations and administrations. When Sheriff Crowe no longer wanted to be sheriff, then I ran. I am very grateful and humble that the people would let me serve them as sheriff. I love serving and helping people. That fulfills me. In fact, I filed my paper and raised a whole lot of campaign funds, which I am appreciative of, so I can be your sheriff for four more years.
Q: Through your half-century of duty, what has been the main driving force encouraging you to continue doing what you do? What would you say is your main motivation and inspiration driving your career?
A: My motivation is that I like people. In fact, I love the people of Polk County and I love to keep them safe. I love to motivate my deputies, and the support staff are the most wonderful people in the world. We come to work every day to do the hard job so you can live in a safe happy community, and we do. So we are more than just law enforcement. We are also leaders in the community. And we want to make sure that we create an environment where everyone thrives. That is what we do every day.
Q: Now, as we all know, thanks to you and your dedicated law enforcement staff, crime in Polk County has experienced an all-time 40-year-low. Even then, the county still has its challenges. What would you consider the biggest issues facing Polk County? And how have you and the sheriff’s office addressed these problems?
A: Actually, crime is at a 51-year low. That has been a challenge because in the last four years alone, over 100,000 people have moved into Polk County. Think about that. That is a lot of folks. I would tell you that the #1 issue that I am concerned about is the sale and use of fentanyl. It is killing people DRT: dead right there. It is not like you use cocaine or meth which is a very dangerous drug and you die after years of neglect or abuse. Fentanyl is causing people to die by the thousands across this nation every year immediately. So, we are working very hard with our narcotics teams to arrest those that traffic in fentanyl. In fact, in this last year alone, we seized enough kilos of fentanyl that could have overdosed well over seven million people. So, we have protected people from dying. We know statistically that some of those people who use that dangerous drug would have died had it not been for my detectives seized that violent drug and put some really bad people in jail. I am also concerned about safety and security in school. Children need to feel safe and be safe at school so they can thrive. That is why we worked with the school board to ensure that we keep children safe while they are at school.
You can hear the rest of our interview with Sheriff Grady Judd in our newest episode of Chattin on the Ridge. Listen to our podcast on Acast: https://shows.acast.com/chattin-on-the-ridge/ep-24-sheriff-grady-judd
