Come August, voters in St. Clair County will chose between two candidates for sheriff: incumbent Sheriff Mat King and Yale Police Chief Warren Head.
Both candidates have laid out plans for how they will proceed if elected as the Republican Party candidate in the August primary election. There is no Democratic candidate running for sheriff, making the primary the de facto election.
Born and raised in Port Huron, Mat King has been sheriff since he was elected in 2020, replacing former Sheriff Tim Donnellon who had chosen not to run for reelection.
King has been with the sheriff's office since 1998, beginning as a road patrol deputy. He emphasized that he's worked in every rank at the sheriff's office and knows it inside and out.
"I have the experience and I have the education to do this job," King said.
King said his biggest contribution to the sheriff's office has been updating its equipment and bringing body cameras to the office. He also recently introduced a sheriff's office cellphone app.
"If you're not up with the times, you're going to fail as a leader," King said.
King said he plans to use his next term to promote engagement between law enforcement officers and the community, and to work on retaining deputies. Law enforcement offices nationwide have seen a decrease in applicants in recent years, increasing competition between departments for those who do apply.
One initiative King said he's proud of is the department's health and wellness plan. King said his office has provided training for deputies to recognize mental and physical distress among their colleagues and to provide peer support.
The Times Herald reached out to Head, but he declined to answer questions for this article beyond statements about his career history.
A Marysville native, Head worked as an air policeman in the U.S. Air Force from 1967 to 1970. He spent 30 years working at the St. Clair County Sheriff's office from 1978 until 2008. He was appointed as the Yale Police Chief in late 2022.
Head criticized the sheriff's office's handling of the medical care of Lisa Brown, a woman who has sued the St. Clair County Sheriff's Office, county jail and several law enforcement officers including King.
Brown has alleged she was left untreated by the jail's medical staff for nearly three days after falling from her bunk bed in 2021. She later learned her neck was broken, according to court records, causing partial paralysis.
"I know, from experience, that the inmates can just want attention, but after an observation of her pleas for medical assistance, this should have been addressed and more likely could have avoided the lawsuit that is now pending against the Sheriffs Office," Head said in a post on his campaign website.
King said he could not comment on the lawsuit, but did say the sheriff's office has been training jail deputies on when they should override decisions made by the jail's medical staff.
The election is scheduled for Aug. 6.
Contact Johnathan Hogan at jhogan@gannett.com.
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