Terry Foster: Why I Sat In The Defendant's Chair

By Terry Foster
The Family Deal

Pontiac – The beginning of the Oakland County Sherriff's Award Ceremony sounded hokey.

Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard was acknowledged with being named National Sheriff of the Year by the National Sheriff Association, the first time someone from the state of Michigan had won the award.

That was fine. Bouchard should take a bow for his hard work. It is dangerous being on the front line even if you are the head man. He pointed out that his department and many around the state of Michigan must deal with ISIS, who has planned terrorist plots to kill law enforcement officers. They even distributed the names and addresses of officers in Oakland County.

Then Bouchard sounded like someone who won the Heisman or was named manager of the year. He thanked the people who work with him and said he'd never win the award without them and that this was an honor for all the hard work of others.

How many times have I heard this in the sports world?

I listened and applauded, but I did not understand until the award ceremony began. I was in charge of reading the accomplishments of dozens of winners in the Oakland County Sheriff's office and people in the community.

The department has 1,300 employees and an annual budget of $141 million.

Only when you hear the stories of police officers, deputies, detectives and people who work in the jails do you understand why Bouchard began the show the way he did.
There were so many stories. Here are a few of them.

** Deputy Gary McClure drove to a house in Addison Township where he observed a woman lying in the driveway after being shot. He shielded the victim from the shooter, moved her to safety and called for help. And he finally went into the house to secure the scene with the shooter inside until help arrived.

** Deputy Paul Buhl and Deputy Richard Hubble III were confronted by a person holding a cross-bow. Later the person told the officers he wanted to be shot. They used a Taser to subdue the suspect and transported him to the hospital.

** The Cell Extraction team removed 368 prison inmates who were not in the best of moods. The department reported a low rate of injuries in a thankless job I sure do not want to do.

** The Circuit Court Transport team drove more than 19,000 miles a month and transported 26,000 prisoners without an accident.

** Deputy Donald Stevenson worked with the Southeastern Michigan Crimes against Children Task Force was able to operate a sting operation that led to the arrest of a child predator.

** Deputy Matthew Leggat and Deputy Lee Van Camp II worked with the FBI to uncover a plot to by three subjects who planned a massive school shooting. They arrested the guys a day before the planned shooting. As a parent of two children this one really touched by heart.

They have dive teams, prison guards, detectives, deputies and volunteers that all work together to make us safe. It is a thankless job.

They make us feel safe. Although there are issues with a few individual law enforcement officers I do believe most care about us.

As I walked out a man stopped me and said "It takes a special breed to do this."

I believe that. That is why Sherriff Bouchard was right to say that others helped him win this award.

(Foster can be reached at Terry.Foster@cbsradio.com)