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Ryan Mechaley announces candidacy for Pennington County Sheriff
RAPID CITY, S.D. (JAN. 10, 2022) – Veteran South Dakota Highway Patrol officer, Ryan Mechaley is running for Pennington Country Sheriff, announcing his candidacy today, after published reports that longtime Sheriff Kevin Thom will not be seeking reelection.
Mechaley says his decision to run for Sheriff came before learning that Thom would not be his opponent in the upcoming election and that his candidacy is motivated by a skyrocketing crime wave, growing societal disdain for law enforcement and media-political poisoning of the basic premise of law and order.
“In the insanity of the present moment of defund the police, and constant allegations of racism and political bickering, America is losing sight of the basic function of law enforcement. If you break law, you go to jail,” Mechaley said.
“When the objective becomes something other than the safety of the law abiding public, the system is broken. Law enforcement is about justice. Not social justice.”
Mechaley says he has watched with disgust as the nation’s police officers have been cast as criminals, while actual criminals have been praised, venerated and glorified as political heroes, in many cases simply for violently resisting arrest.
Even more troubling Mechaley says, law enforcement agencies across the nation are collapsing under immense pressure by a radicalized minority of voters, enacting policies and adopting philosophies that are giving criminals free reign on city streets, predictably leading to a national epidemic of violent crime.
“F.B.I. statistics don’t lie. Over the past ten years, Rapid City neighborhoods and the surrounding county have become more violent and less safe amid a shocking rise in crimes against property and people.” Mechaley said. “It’s time for that to change.”
Mechaley also believes that Sheriff Thom’s pending retirement is an opportunity not just for new blood in the Sheriff’s office, but an end to a long tradition of predecessors hand picking their successors in an almost royal line of appointment.
“As Pennington County’s next Sheriff, I will answer directly to the citizens I serve and I’ll work every day to restore a healthy brand of leadership and a very simple mission to the office. It’s our job to make Pennington County a bad place to be a criminal and a safe and secure place for law abiding citizens to go to work and raise a family.”
“That’s the reason I dedicated my life to serve and protect. And it’s the reason I’m asking for your vote.”
The election will be held on June 7, 2022.
