Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski is no stranger to controversy.
His name has cropped up in the news again recently, garnering nationwide attention for inflammatory Facebook posts aimed at supporters of current vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
But it's not the first time Zuchowski has brought attention to himself and the department by way of social media posts.
So, who is Zuchowski, and what has he done to attract such polarizing attention?
Here's what to know.
Bruce D. Zuchowski was elected as Portage County Sheriff in 2020
Bruce Zuchowski, a Republican and former assistant post commander for the Ohio State Highway Patrol, defeated Greg Johnson, a Democrat who was the former chief of the detective bureau at the sheriff’s office.
Ohio election 2020: Bruce Zuchowski defeats Greg Johnson in Portage County sheriff's race
Zuchowski won his election by roughly 10,000 votes, according to the final unofficial results.
He was elected to the position vacated by David Doak, who retired and held the spot since 2009.
Bruce Zuchowski's Facebook post garners praise, pushback
In a post on his Facebook page , the Portage County sheriff encouraged people in Ohio to write down the addresses of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris supporters to know where to place new immigrants in the community.
The public social media post made to Bruce Zuchowski's personal page on Sept. 13, 2024, encouraged people to make a record of those who support Harris, and referred to the Democratic presidential candidate as a "laughing hyena."
The post also used the word "locust" to describe immigrants. Dehumanizing language comparing specific groups of people to types of insects has been used throughout history, including by Nazis .
Zuchowski previously used department social media to condemn Cleveland Guardians baseball name change
After the Cleveland Guardians changed their team name in an effort to stray away from language that some fans found dehumanizing and insensitive, Zuchowski issued a one-page statement on the Portage County Sheriff’s Department’s official letterhead criticizing “another attempt of trying to erase our history due to the outcry of the few that affects the many.”
Previous reporting: Portage County sheriff uses department social media to condemn Cleveland baseball name change
At the time, the post generated more than 2,000 shares and 6,000 comments of both support and condemnation in fewer than 24 hours.
The post, from 2021, remains up on Facebook years later.
For years, indigenous people demanded that Cleveland retire the old logo and mascot depicting a cartoonish Native American with red skin.
Zuchowski said he “felt compelled to make a statement on behalf of the silent majority."
Portage County NAACP claims sheriff's unit targets minority drivers
In 2023, the Portage County NAACP released a report claiming a unit of the Portage County Sheriff's Office unfairly targets minority drivers.
The civil rights organization analyzed traffic stops made by the sheriff's department's Portage Aggressive Crime Enforcement (PACE), finding that members of the unit have disproportionately stopped Black drivers when compared to the demographics of the county.
At the time, NAACP President Renee Romine said the civil rights organization started looking into the PACE unit after hearing citizen complaints.
Read more about that here .
3 Portage County cities from disbanded drug task force sued Bruce Zuchowski for missing funds
Earlier this year, Kent, Ravenna and Streetsboro joined forces in a civil complaint, filed in Portage County Court of Common Pleas in November, naming the county and Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski as co-defendants in a case of missing funds.
The three Portage County cities were attempting to recover funds they say were wrongfully withheld from them by the county sheriff when a drug task force they were all members of disbanded more than two years ago.
Read more about that here .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Who is Portage County Sheriff Bruce D. Zuchowski? Republican embroiled in controversy
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