Community remembers beloved Sheriff Sutherland

NORWALK — The passing of retired Huron County Sheriff Richard "Dick" Sutherland brought back a lot of memories from many who knew him during his life and extensive career. Sutherland touched many lives during his law enforcement career, which spanned the years 1971 to 2009. The sheriff was remembered by many community members as tremendously likeable — a man who made friends of whomever he encountered. He and his late twin brother and chief deputy, Bob, were known as comedians and pranksters throughout the law enforcement community. "The first thing I would say is, that his personality; he was a community police officer before there was such a thing," said Erie County Sheriff Paul Sigsworth, who worked extensively with Sutherland over the years. Sigsworth recalled many a meeting between his boss, the late Sheriff John Magnuson, and Sutherland, in Magnuson's office in the old Erie County jail building. Sigsworth described both men as "people persons." "They worked together for years," he said. "Sheriff Magnuson was from Norwalk and they had started their law enforcement careers at the same time. They were sheriffs together for years. "We worked a lot of cases together, because we were adjacent counties," Sigsworth said. He added that the combination of Dick and Bob Sutherland was always good for a laugh and they were always playing practical jokes. "Dick was one of a kind, but, by the same token, he and Bob were two of a kind," Sigsworth continued. "They were the tag team of law enforcement comedy." Sigsworth said Sutherland's personality and knack for getting to know other people served him well. He said that the three things that left the greatest impression of Sutherland were his personality, outgoing nature and sense of humor. Kathleen Sigsworth, the sheriff's wife, recalled her time working for Sutherland as a dispatcher, road deputy and Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) officer in the Huron County Sheriff's Department. She fondly remembered that the former sheriff and his brother pulled a prank on her when she was a new dispatcher. "He was quite a personable person," she said. "He was very laid-back; easy to talk to. "He was always very supportive," she continued, regarding the D.A.R.E. program and other law enforcement team efforts throughout the county. Norwalk Mayor Dave Light, who retired as chief of the Norwalk Police Department, said that Sutherland was pivotal in establishing region law enforcement teams. In addition to the Huron County D.A.R.E. program, the late sheriff brought together a child abuse investigation team, deputizing police officers, including Light, to be able to work outside the city. The team was organized under retired Lt. Randy Sommers and partnered with Huron County Children Services personnel. "We had a county-wide team," Light said. "It started under him. "Dick saw the value in uniting all the law enforcement agencies in Huron County," Light said. "It was a well-thought-out plan and it was successful." The mayor said Sutherland also established a regional narcotics task force under Capt. Bob McLaughlin. "Dick Sutherland was, besides being one of the best people you'd ever want to meet, he was proactive. "He always greeted you with a big smile," Light said. "Everybody loved him. He never met a stranger and I never ever heard anybody in law enforcement speak negatively about him, kind of like (Magnuson) back in the day." "Anyone who has lived in Huron County for any period of time knows the Sutherland brothers," said Huron County Chief Deputy Dave Ditz. " He was just an incredible guy. Ditz recalled the retired sheriff's encouragement, when Ditz's career was transitioning from the NPD to the sheriff's department. "He walked right up to me and said, 'I heard that you were going out there and you need to go out there. It's a great organization,'" Ditz said. "He always had everybody's best interest at heart. "I was personally very sad when I heard about his passing. He was an icon of Huron County," said Ditz. "He was just a really good guy." "He hired me," said HCSO Major Chuck Summers, "I knew him since 1987." "He took a liking to me," said Summers, who had then been working as a police officer in New London. "I ended up here, working for him." Summers detailed that during a time when he had gone to work a railroad job, Sutherland encouraged him to maintain his police certifications, helping him to do so by hiring him as a reserve deputy. "That worked out to be the right call," Summers said. "He always treated me really well; fair; even when I screwed up," Summers continued. "I can't say anything bad about the guy." "Out of the five sheriffs I worked with, I worked with him the longest," said Terrie Shean, who retired from HCSO in 2017 as a lieutenant. Sutherland regularly took trainees under his wing, and very kind to Shean on the first day she road along on patrol. "He was kind of like the big brother," Shean said. The sheriff took her around the county, showing her its obscure borders, while running multiple calls. "He drew the short straw, because nobody wanted to go out with the rookies." Still, she said, Sutherland was kind to her and very professional. "In those days, it was one call after another, and he just handled it like it was second nature," she said. Shean humorously remembered how she and her co-workers referred to the sheriff's wife, Kitty, as "Miss Kitty," a reference to the television series, "Gunsmoke." "We had the sheriff and Miss Kitty. What more could we want?" Having worked closely with Sutherland, she and many others at the sheriff's office came to know of his deep fear of snakes. She recounted an event that unfolded one year at the Huron County Fair. The sheriff spotted a man who had been walking the grounds with his live pet snake. "He had an awful thing about snakes," Shean said. "You go out there and tell that guy to get off the grounds immediately," Sutherland had said. "I remembered, 'I don't like snakes either,'" Shean said. Obeying orders, Shean found the man and requested he take his snake home, noting that it might make some people uncomfortable or, more dangerously, spook horses and other animals. The man complied. "There are so many stories, I just don't know where to begin," she said. "He was great to work with. He will be missed." Throughout his life, Sutherland looked after others, often visiting retired Huron County Sheriff John Borgia, among others. "He always had time to stop and see people in the county," Shean continued. "He did this on a regular basis. "I don't think he ever met a stranger," she said. "The first time that you met him, you knew that you had a friend." Sutherland, 75, died Friday at the Laurels of New London. He began his law enforcement career in Wellington in 1971, where he worked for three years before being hired at the Huron County Sheriff's Office in 1974. He was elected sheriff in 1988 and he served the citizens of Huron County as their sheriff from 1989 until his retirement in 2009. He is survived by his wife, Kitty (Calhoun) Sutherland; five sons; four brothers; 11 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.