Huron County Sheriff on BLM, police reform

NORWALK — "You can't have people that are racist in this line of work. People have to be compassionate and understanding and love to serve their fellow man," Huron County Sheriff, Todd Corbin said. Corbin recently spoke with the Reflector about police reform, Black Lives Matter and hiring practices. "We all know there's a problem. We got to be systematic in how we approach it. I'm biracial… I try to explain it to people as no one owes you anything, they owe you a fair shot. They have to treat you fairly," he said. Corbin said when people talk about defunding the police, it seems like a knee-jerk reaction. He said the police are the greatest system in the country, but he's open to ideas. "We're only recognizing black and white people (in Black Lives Matter). What about Hispanics, Koreans? What about all these other people we have, homosexual and lesbian people, they're discriminated against," he said. "The Black Lives movement has spurred this police officer reform, they want to have a use of force. Well if you don't understand the job, it's hard to go in front of people that never had to restrain somebody and they've never been in a physical altercation. I'm not opposed to it but the liability is always there because you can be sued for anything." Corbin said the law enforcement profession is always evolving because laws change often and when decisions come down from the Supreme Court, it can change procedures. Reform around hiring practices that have come from the Black Lives Matter movement is something Corbin said he appreciates. He said he believes a database of fired police officers would prevent bad cops from getting back into law enforcement. "People with various motives and objectives will go from one department to another and I like the idea that you can keep track. When you get removed from a department, you shouldn't be allowed back into it," he said. "The police are the community and the community is the police. We're a reflection on the people." Corbin said the color of someone's skin shouldn't matter, especially when it comes to hiring. "There's a history of racism throughout the whole country. What qualifications do I have to apply for this job? Because that's what you're going to base whether or not I get the job, not the color of my skin or what my background is, but if I have the skills," he said. Corbin said in Huron County, the black population is less than one percent and there is a higher population of Hispanic people. "If you take a tour of the county jail and you look at the demographics there, you're going to be seeing 98 percent of the people that we incarcerate are white," he said. "But if I took you to the inner city of Chicago and it's 90 percent black, what you have in the demographics of the area is what's going to show." Corbin said mental health assessments for police officers are common practice and officers are provided peer-to-peer counseling if they are struggling with mental health. "You see things that the average person doesn't see, the death of a child, horrific crime scenes, car crashes. To say that I'm the same person I was when I started 23 years ago, I'd look at you and laugh because I'm not," he said. "That is the nature of this job, it changes you, the way you think and the way you see people. It's how you deal with it, my strength comes from my belief. I believe in Jesus Christ almighty. I'm here to serve in His way and His will and that's how I try to approach the job." Corbin said any officer can come to him and he can provide resources for peer-to-peer counseling, spiritual counseling or professional help. "We all have stressors. If I see that you're hurting more, I can do fitness-for-duty evaluation and try to help the situation that way," he said. "Even firefighters, EMTs, they're actually exposing themselves to a higher risk, whether it be infectious diseases or volatile situations." Corbin said the Huron County Sheriff's Office is "very transparent" and has a great working relationship with the communities and police departments. "I'm very passionate about what we do and it's not just a job, it is truly a lifestyle. People don't understand that. You have to be the same person you are in uniform as you are out. If you can't be the same person then you probably don't have any business (being in law enforcement)," the sheriff said. "I've worked too hard to get this far in my life to screw it up. I'm honored and humbled at the fact that the people elected me to do this job because they believe in me and I don't want to disappoint them."