BERRIEN COUNTY SHERIFF UPDATE

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent

ST. JOSEPH – Berrien County will soon have a new interim County Sheriff after action last week by the Berrien County Sheriff Appointment Committee. Committee members unanimously approved appointing Undersheriff Chuck Heit as the interim sheriff starting Jan. 1.

Longtime Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey announced in February that he would be retiring at the end of December. Bailey said he would not be running for re-election in 2024 and would in fact be retiring at the end of 2023. He has been sheriff for 23 years and in law enforcement for over four decades.

The Berrien County Sheriff Appointment Committee is made up of County Clerk Sharon Tyler, County Prosecutor Steve Pierangeli and Chief Trial Court Judge Mabel Mayfield.

The committee met in October to accept Bailey’s retirement and to set a deadline for people to apply. They set the criteria for applying for the interim appointment to be people having seven years of police/public safety experience including three years in a supervisory capacity.

Those applying in addition to Heit were Sheriff’s Department Lieutenant Thomas Dyer of Niles, Miramar, Florida resident Jeffrey Gorley, Sheriff’s Department Lieutenant Roger Johnson of St. Joseph and Sheriff’s Department Deputy Jason Long of Berrien Springs.

The five were interviewed last Wednesday, Nov. 22 and Pierangeli reported that Heit was the committee’s unanimous choice to be the interim sheriff. Heit has also indicated that he plans to run for sheriff in the August primary and November general elections in 2024.

County Administrator Brian Dissette reported Heit’s appointment to county commissioners. Dissette noted that the appointment requires no additional action by the county board and Heit will become the interim sheriff Jan. 1.

“Public comment was allowed and the bulk of the comments offered thanks for the process,” Dissette told commissioners. “All of the comments expressed support for Chuck Heit.”

For his part, Heit thanked the committee for appointing him. “I am honored to have been selected to serve as Sheriff starting January 1, 2024. I look forward to serving the residents of Berrien County as their Sheriff.”

Heit’s campaign website, www.chuckheitforsheriff.com, gives a short biography of Heit’s experience as well as an endorsement from Bailey. Heit is currently in his 21st year as the Berrien County Undersheriff.

Heit is a 1987 graduate of New Buffalo High School and lives in New Buffalo with his wife, Michelle, who is the New Buffalo Township Supervisor. They have three children and four grandchildren. Heit served on the New Buffalo Board of Education for over 20 years. He is the current president of the St. Joseph Lions Club.

His education background includes a major in sociology with a minor in criminal justice from Central Michigan University. He graduated from the Kalamazoo Valley Community College Police Academy in 1992. He graduated from the FBI National Academy in 2011.

He was hired as a police officer for the city of Buchanan in February, 1993 before joining the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department later that year in December, 1993. He left the sheriff’s department in 1999 to become the New Buffalo police chief, a post he held for three years.

His website noted that “Heit recognizes the strong foundation Sheriff Paul Bailey has built over his 23 years in office. Heit plans to continue to build upon this with the hard-working men and women of the Sheriff’s Office in the future.”

As noted above, Bailey has endorsed him to be his successor. “Chuck has served as my Undersheriff for 20 years and I have personally witnessed his hard work and dedication,” Bailey wrote. “He is by far the most qualified person to serve as Sheriff for Berrien County and is a man of strong faith and integrity.”

Heit already has one opponent in the Republican primary. Ric Briand of Niles announced earlier this year that he will be running for sheriff as a Republican. This will be his second run for sheriff; he ran as an independent in 2016 and lost to Bailey.

The sheriff’s position is one of many that will be on the 2024 ballot. Several other county posts will be on the ballot including clerk, treasurer, prosecutor, register of deeds, drain commissioner and county commissioners. In addition, people will decide numerous other races, from the national and state to the local level.

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