STURGIS, S.D. – After being tabled earlier this month, the Meade County Commission approved hiring an additional deputy in connection with a crisis intervention grant being received by the county sheriff.
Meade County Sheriff Pat West went before the Commission earlier this month and told the department they had received a Crisis Intervention Team grant. The grant will allow some deputies to become master certified and while also training other deputies in de-escalating mental health situations that deputies encounter in the field.
However, part of the grant requires the department to hire another deputy to pick up patrol responsibilities while other officers are training.
Crisis Intervention Grant tabled by County Commission 〉
West says the grant will pay 59-percent of salary and benefits for the new deputy, but the county will need to pick up the additional cost for three years. In the fourth year, the county will have to pay the full cost of the deputy.
Commissioners decided not to act on the request earlier because of the absence of Commissioner Rich Liggett. With Liggett in attendance today, the commission formally accepted the CIT grant to allow the County to add a full time employee to the staff.
The resolution passed 4-1 with Commissioner Gary Deering voting no. The grant will begin in 2024.
