South Bend’s police chief is looking to lead another department. Scott Ruszkowski announced Friday that he’s officially running for St. Joseph County sheriff.
After 37 years with the South Bend Police Department, Ruszkowski says he’s maxed out the available benefits and has people ready to take over. "It’s time to pass the proverbial torch at South Bend, but I have a lot of tools left in the toolbox and I need to utilize them," Ruszkowski said during a press conference Friday at the County-City Building. "I can’t just walk away from police work. Not gonna happen."
While Ruszkowski said he’s been exploring the idea for almost a year, he says there were times he wasn’t sure about running. He said no one’s made a similar transition from South Bend police chief to St. Joseph County sheriff.
"It’s never happened," Ruszkowski said. "I don’t have a book. I don’t have a guide. I don’t have anything to direct, and nobody else could give me advice because nobody’s done it before. So, this is a first for all of us."
He credited many of the area’s Democratic elected officials for encouraging him to run.
Ruszkowski said his integrity, knowledge and experience set him apart from his potential opponents. He said he regularly talks with current sheriff Bill Redman, and he plans to take input from county police personnel and the community.
"Right now, it’s a sponge component," Ruszkowski added. "I'm going to absorb everything that I can, which I’ve been doing anyway for almost a year now. I had an exploratory committee and just recently converted to the campaign faction of it."
He said as sheriff, he’d oversee a larger area, but with a slightly smaller staff and budget. Ruszkowski filed to run in the Democratic primary. So far, Rod Laureys has filed to run as a Republican. Redman is unable to run again, due to term limits.
