The leadership transition at the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office is already underway.
Murphy assistant police chief Dustin Smith prevailed over Chief Deputy Joe Wood and Heath Woodward in the Republican primary race on May 17, putting him in line to succeed Sheriff Derrick Palmer, who did not seek re-election. Smith, a third-generation native of Cherokee County, captured 2,845 votes (48.51 percent), while Wood received 2,388 (40.72 percent) and Woodard got 632 (10.78 percent).
Smith announced Thursday that Murphy Police Chief Justin Jacobs will serve as his chief deputy once he’s sworn in near the end of the year. He previously has expressed his intention to shift the focus of the department toward having more patrol officers.
“I’m looking forward to getting in there and restructuring the sheriff’s office to make sure we have the coverage that we need in our county,” Smith said.
Smith said Wood called him on the night of the election to congratulate him on his victory, then again the morning after the election. Wood said he has received employment offers from other agencies within the region and is leaning toward taking one of them. In the meantime, he aims to ease the transition of power.
“We’re going to make this transition of power as easy as possible for him and for his benefit, but more so for the benefit of the citizens,” Wood said. “I said from the beginning of this race, ‘The Lord’s will be done,’ and I’m confident this is His will.
“I want to wish the new sheriff all the best, and I’m going to assist in any way I can to make this transition seamless. They never are, but we’re going to make it as seamless as possible.”
In addition to increasing the number of patrols, Smith said during his campaign that he would like to utilize substations in Andrews and Hiwassee Dam to significantly lower the response times to the eastern and western ends of the county as well as decrease dangers from high-speed pursuits emanating from the Murphy area. With a number of changes planned for the sheriff’s office, Smith said he and Wood have agreed to sit down with department employees this week and provide a clearer picture of what things will look like once he takes office in December.
“We both plan on going through the office sometime (this) week and talking to people,” Smith said. “Anytime you go through a transition in a sheriff’s office, there’s a lot of tension and a lot of people just don’t know what’s going to happen.
“So we want to make sure everybody is calm in the situation and understands which direction we’re going to go. We want to make sure we do that together, Joe and I both.”
Smith said he recently spoke with Mark Buchanan, who won the Republican primary for sheriff in Clay County. The two hope to re-establish a regional drug task force joining Cherokee, Clay and other nearby counties. Smith also has said he plans to move 911 Dispatch under Cherokee County Emergency Management.
“I’m relieved that the election is over,” Smith said. “I’m humbled by the amount of support we had.
“There was a lot of work that went into it and a lot of people who helped me, and I have so many people to thank. I was passionate about it, and very passionate about law enforcement in our county going forward, and I want what’s best for our county, so that made me push really, really hard to get out there and campaign and talk to people.”