The Northampton County Sheriff provides building and court room security, transports prisoners, locates and apprehends fugitives, serves legal papers, administers the foreclosure, repossession and sale of real and personal property, and issues gun permits.
Unlike most other counties in Pennsylvania, which elect their sheriffs, the Home Rule Charter makes the Sheriff an appointed position. The Executive ranks his top three choices and forwards them to the courts. The courts in turn can rank the choices in another order or include new names. The Executive has the final say. Johnston was the top choice of both the courts and McClure.
It's mostly gone, but you can still detect a New York accent in Johnston's voice. He started his career there as a NYC transit cop in 1982. While working full-time, he earned an associate's degree in forensic psychology in 1993. In 1994, he was promoted to sergeant for the NYPD, where he supervised anywhere between 20 and 45 officers, depending on which precinct he worked
After putting in his 20 years with New York City, he continued his career in law enforcement here in the Lehigh Valley. He started as a District Security Officer at Easton School District and became a deputy sheriff in 2002.
Johnston expressed his appreciation to nearly everyone, including deputies who certainly made his life more interesting.
I have high regard for Rich, both as Sheriff and as a person. He has always been a gentleman, a rarity.
9 comments:
Man of integrity !
I find it amusing when people like yourself attempt to give us anecdotal opinions about a man you knew little about. Bernie, you have a successful blog and you needed information to fuel this blog, so of course your experience would be with the sheriff would have been amicable because you had ulterior motives to justify your end goal of keeping a information-flowing relationship with him. But for the employees who worked under him, he did nothing but create a hostile work environment and actively blocked any progressive trajectory that this department ever inspired to have. He was an extremely vindictive man, and seldom intervened when his command staff violently retailated against deputies that didn’t compare to their toxic-masculinity standards. He sure tried to hire a lot of deputies, but they mostly left voluntarily after experiencing the destructive nature of an environment that he allowed to grow and sometimes encouraged. The department needs to be gutted from the inside out, and hopefully better days are yet to come. And I’m sure these comments here will be filled with vitriol, and although much of it is much deserved, I implore you to read the comments with an open mind, and just try to respect the fact that these are real-life experiences they had with the sheriff. Not just a business, transactional relationship like the one you had with him.
Comments that insult Rich will not be published unless you identify yourself. He is not an elected official and sets no policy. Man up or shut up.
"I find it amusing when people like yourself attempt to give us anecdotal opinions about a man you knew little about. Bernie, you have a successful blog and you needed information to fuel this blog, so of course your experience would be with the sheriff would have been amicable because you had ulterior motives to justify your end goal of keeping a information-flowing relationship with him."
I have known Rich since he was a deputy sheriff. He and I became personally friendly then. He has always been a class act and I have never once heard him speak ill of anyone, unless that person is right in front of him. I saw him go through hard times when I former sheriff laid him off illegally. I saw him go through better times when another former sheriff brought him back and promoted him.
As sheriff, he has followed the policy set by McClure. If you have issues with those policies, your issues are with him.
In all the years I've known Rich, he has never been the source for any of the stories I've written. That just hit me now. He kept things to himself. Several deputies have fed me stories over the years, but I've never seen a bigger bunch of babies about keeping their names out of this blog.
The real problem is that several deputies think they should be sheriff. Several deputies think they should be able to go out on patrol like other law enforcement. They were outraged when Rich refused to allow them to respond to an election protest outside the courthouse. They fail to mention he was standing there, watching it. So was I. They fail to mention that he and his chief deputy were at nearly every protest around the courthouse, even during off duty hours. They fail to mention that Easton police are more suited, more appropriate and better trained to deal with these situations, while deputies are more suited to providing security inside the courthouse, serving process and performing the numerous civil functions of the office of sheriff.
The toxic masculinity I see has been from some deputies, certainly not Rich.
He has been the consummate gentleman in the many years I've known him, and I consider him a friend.
Johnston was the worse hire the county has had in a very long time.
Enjoy your retirement and time with your family!
The sheriff in this county needs to be elected. Not appointed!!!
First off I do not follow your blog as much as I did when I was employed by Northampton County. That being said I was told about this article, and felt compelled to respond. I was employed by Northampton County for 29 years as a Deputy Sheriff. I was also a member of many law enforcement organizations including the Northampton County Sheriff's Association Board in which I held many positions. I am a member of the Deputy Sheriff's Association of Pennsylvania and served as the President from 2013 to 2015 representing over 3000 Deputies. As President of this association I worked with many of the Sheriffs throughout the Commonwealth and have had lengthy discussions regarding having an appointed Sheriff versus an elected Sheriff. The pros always outweighed the cons. During my 29 year career I worked for many Sheriff's(:Diomedo,Hawbecker,Miller,Dalrymple,and Johnston) as well as many acting Sheriff's. Without question Rich Johnston was the worst of them.
Some will say that this is me just being mad or jealous that I was not given the opportunity for the position, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Northampton County appoints their Sheriff. Sixty-five counties in the Commonwealth elect their Sheriff. As an elected official you answer to the citizens that you serve and are not dictated by one political entity (in Northampton County, the County Executive). Bernie as you stated, " he (the Sheriff) has followed the policies set by McClure". This is exactly my issue with an appointed Sheriff. The Sheriff's Department should be led by it's Sheriff, the person who is most knowledgeable of its' duties, personnel and capablities of those individuals. The Sheriff should act in the interests and needs of the citizens for which he/she serves and answer to them. The Sheriff should not have to run "upstairs" to ask what to do on a daily basis as he/she should have the authority to act autonomously.
The Position of Sheriff has become a political pawn directed by the party in charge. A simple donation check written to the County Executive ensures the appointment. It is understood that you are only to do what that Administration allows, and instructs you to do. As I was told by a former County Executive when I was interested in the position was " If you do not follow what the County Executive tells you you will be gone". I remember a time when Northampton County Sheriff's Department was held in very high regard throughout this Commonwealth, but sadly that is no longer the fact. This is no reflection on my brothers and sisters who work tirelessly to serve and protect the citizens of this county-this decline is Rich Johnston's fault. The rate of attrition in the Sheriff's Department has skyrocketed. The number of Deputies who have gone through the hiring practice, and then a 19 week academy only to leave reinforces the claims of how dysfunctional things are in the department. I do have first hand knowledge of the frustration within the department and feel for those that dread going to work-life is too short to be treated without the respect that is deserved. So hopefully there will be change and the Northampton County Sheriff's Department will return to what it once was. In closing, I will agree with Bernie on one point- if you choose to respond do not be anonymous. Give your opinion some credit by owning it.
Good Luck in retirement!
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