St. Joseph County sheriff candidate Rod Laureys was briefly suspended from the county police department for failing to notify its leaders of his plans to run. Laureys is a St. Joseph County police corporal.
The department’s merit rules require any officer interested in running for a political office to notify the merit board and sheriff in writing, before officially filing. In an email response to WVPE, the police department said Laureys didn’t do that. The merit board president suggested days off, and Sheriff Bill Redman set the suspension at three days.
In a statement, Laureys said, "I take responsibility for not following the exact procedural path, and I accept the discipline that came with it—accountability matters in law enforcement, and I hold myself to that standard. What matters more to me is that policing remains rooted in professionalism, mutual respect, and the brotherhood of the badge, not distracted by politics or timing." He added that he's learned from the incident.
Laureys is running for sheriff as a Republican. If no other candidates file, he’d face Democrat Scott Ruszkowski in the general election. The filing deadline for the May primary is next Friday. Sheriff Redman can’t run for reelection this year, due to term limits. Instead, he’s running for county commissioner.
