2024 Primary Election Preview: Highland County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Brandon Stratton running for sheriff

Brandon Stratton, one of two Republican candidates for Highland County sheriff appearing on the March 19 primary ballot, recently sat down with The Highland County Press to discuss his over 20-year career with the Highland County Sheriff’s Office.

Stratton is currently the Chief Deputy of the Highland County Sheriff’s Office, a role he has held since 2014. He has spent his entire law enforcement career with the HCSO, having been hired there in 1995 and serving in numerous different capacities during parts of the past 29 years (20-plus total years with the HCSO).

Stratton and his high school sweetheart, Nicholle, have been married for 30 years. They have two grown children, Wesley Stratton and Emily Bates, and five grandchildren. Stratton added that his daughter and her husband (Ryan) both “followed in my footsteps” and are working for the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office. 

After graduating from high school, Stratton enlisted in the military and served 10 years with the Ohio Army National Guard. While in the National Guard, he had his first experience working with law enforcement during the 11-day Lucasville prison riot in 1993. 

“Our whole unit ended up responding down there, and they had us sitting in the perimeter with the state patrol and local law enforcement and corrections officers,” Stratton said. “That was the first experience where I got to work with other law enforcement and corrections officers, and I thought that was very interesting.”

After being stationed in Lucasville for several days, Stratton said an FBI agent invited him “to go inside with them” as the FBI performed a mission inside the prison, with Stratton asked to help carry the equipment.

“I thought that was the coolest thing that I could ever do,” he said.

From there, Stratton enrolled in the Greenfield Police Officer’s Training Academy and became a certified peace officer in 1994. 

“My dad loaned me $900 to sign up to go to the Police Academy, and he never has let me pay him back,” Stratton said. “He told me, ‘Son, this is what you were meant to do. You have a passion for the law, and you need to stick to it.’” 

He also attended Southern State Community College and has earned numerous other certifications, including becoming a master criminal investigator, certified master firearms instructor, field training officer, certified corrections officer, certified law enforcement administrator and certified jail administrator. 

In 1995, Stratton was hired at the Highland County Sheriff’s Office by then-Sheriff Tom Horst, embarking on a career that has now spanned parts of four different decades.

“I have worked all divisions and every position of the Highland County Sheriff’s Office, working through the ranks,” Stratton said.

In 2014, current Sheriff Donnie Barrera hired Stratton as the HCSO Chief Deputy, a title he has held for the past decade. As chief deputy of the HCSO, Stratton said he wears many hats, including managing all divisions of the office. 

Stratton said he was appointed to the position “with the intentions of being the next sheriff of Highland County.

“I would have the most experience and knowledge of the office and continue the continuity to prevent a setback and turnover within the office that could be detrimental,” Stratton said. “I’m deeply committed to leading others to achieve the visions, goals and objections of the sheriff’s office through example and positive influence.”

Along with outlining some of his duties, Stratton shared some of the most recent Highland County Sheriff’s Office data, as he said the HCSO recently completed their 2023 reports.

“I develop and plan agency strategies for the upcoming year, including operations plans, large-scale agency plans and goals per division,” Stratton said. “I review response to resistance reports, conduct internal investigations and discipline to document conclusion and facts and make recommendations to the sheriff. 

“I review all on-duty crash reports and pursuits, review and conduct employee evaluations and am involved in the employee selection process, including new employees and promotional processes, with an oral panel review with recommendations presented to the sheriff.”

In addition, Stratton is responsible for many financial aspects of the office, including planning budgets, applying for grants and negotiating union and vendor contracts, as well as overseeing policy, training, schedules, infrastructure maintenance and compliance with Ohio Collaborative Standards. He has a Certified Law Enforcement Manager certificate from the Buckeye State Sheriffs' Association.

From a criminal investigation standpoint, Stratton said he has “overseen all major homicide investigations” in the past 10 years and assisted in “the largest-ever multi-county drug bust involving Highland County.” He has also lent his expertise in other counties as well as at the state and federal levels, by participating in talks with former U.S. Senator Rob Portman regarding border patrol; contributing to Governor Mike DeWine’s 12 Step Recovery Plan for Ohio about the drug epidemic; and assisting in administrative and scheduling work to organize deputies from across the state responding to the Rhoden family murder case in Pike County 2016. 

According to Stratton, the HCSO’s patrol division covered 422,000 miles in 2023, responding to 13,170 calls for service, conducting 1,923 investigations and making 1,557 arrests.

Stratton said that during his tenure as chief deputy, he has made strides in several areas, including in software and equipment upgrades for the patrol division, something he is especially “proud of.

“In 2022, I negotiated a deal, and the patrol division received an upgrade to its software reporting system and added mobile computers to the patrol cars with the most up-to-date software system,” Stratton said. “That allows access to all law enforcement data in the field to complete reports and access data without having to travel to and from the office, creating a more efficient patrol division, using ARPA funding at no additional cost to the taxpayers.”

The HCSO also applied for, and received, a $96,000 state grant recently to purchase body cameras for patrol deputies, Stratton said.

Finding new ways to protect individuals throughout the community, including schools and other organizations, is something that he has also prioritized.

“With the computers added to the patrol cars, I created the School Checks detail, where a deputy on patrol will park at a county school to complete reports, keeping our schools safe,” Stratton said. “Our deputies have been performing school searches with K-9s, drug-sniffing dogs, in high schools to keep our school environment safe. I am currently working with two school districts in the county to seek funding for school resources officers to have deputies working full-time in the school for security and teaching drug awareness. We have been conducting active shooter training in our county schools over the past several years, and I review the county school safety plans.

“We also conduct safety plans with churches in the county. I have increased minimum staffing on each patrol shift by 25 percent without any additional cost to the taxpayers, providing extra patrol and keeping our communities safer.”

According to Stratton, last year alone, the Highland County 911 center handled 39,909 calls for service, including 19,511 calls for 911 emergencies, 8,500 for fire/EMS service and the rest being for law enforcement. The center is staffed by 10 dispatchers.

“The center directly dispatchers all fire and EMS in Highland County, including Hillsboro and Greenfield,” Stratton said. “We have update to the latest technology available at no additional cost to our taxpayers, including computer aid dispatch, emergency medical dispatch and now text to 911.”

Stratton has received his jail administrator certification from the National Institute of Corrections in Aurora, Colo. and has also served on a national advisory board for in-custody deaths. 

The jail at the Highland County Justice Center “has met the highest standards ensuring safety and well-being of both inmates and staff,” Stratton said, with the facility passing its 2023 jail inspection with a 100-percent rating.

Last year, Stratton said the Highland County Jail “processed 1,750 inmates, which is still down about 35 percent since pre-COVID.” The average daily population at the jail was 52 inmates in 2023.

“The jail staff performed 8,760 security checks and provided 41,600 security man-hours, and traveled 43,365 miles transporting inmates to and from courts, prisons and other facilities,” Stratton said.

In recent years, there have been various upgrades made to the jail facility, including adding a body scanner to protect against drugs, weapons and other contraband being conveyed into the jail, as well as replacing security cameras and software. Stratton spoke about several changes that he worked on at he jail.

“An all-new state-of-the-art computer software jail management system that I negotiated and implemented was funded by ARPA funds at no additional cost to taxpayers,” Stratton said. “That has increased efficiency throughout the office for jail records and operations. I negotiated and implemented online inmate video visitation that has increased security by eliminating in-person visits and reducing liability at no cost to the taxpayers. Video court increases security by eliminating transports to court and saving tax dollars.

“I negotiated and implemented a kiosk system to handle inmate commissary funds to eliminate liability to the county for accountability at a cost to the inmate,” Stratton continued. “I negotiated a phone service and commissary contract that fund inmate supplies, linens, uniforms and mattresses at a cost to the inmate, saving the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past several years.” 

Stratton said the department has also used concealed carry fees in the HCSO’s civil division to purchase equipment for officers, including “all-new duty weapons, rifles and duty gear, at no expense to the county’s general fund.” 

To sum it up, Stratton said, “I still do almost every role at some point or other” at the sheriff’s office. He added that he has also made a point to continue to “wear the uniform and drive a marked patrol car” since being named chief deputy.

“That's been something that's been really important to me,” Stratton said. ‘You wouldn't believe the amount of people that say, over the 30 years I've been doing this, that, ‘we were about ready to do something and then we saw you drive by.’ If I was driving by an unmarked car that the county would give me to drive, without a uniform on, who would know whether I would have prevented those crimes?”

Along with serving the HCSO for parts of the past three decades, Stratton said that he has been actively involved in law enforcement associations as well as many local boards and organizations over that time frame. Those include being an active participant in the Buckeye State Sheriffs' Association; chairman of the Hillsboro Elks; vice president of the Hillsboro Rotary; board member of the Highland County Society for Children and Adults; a member of the Board of Directors for the Clinton and Highland County Alternatives to Violence Centers; member of the Highland District Hospital Board of Governors; president of the Highland County Fraternal Order of Police; and was previously elected Concord Township Trustee. In addition, Stratton has been a member of the National Sheriffs Association, National Rifle Association, Red Cross, Highland Masonic Lodge, Hillsboro Eagles, Highland County Coon Hunters and Southern State Community College Criminal Justice Advisory Committee. 

Stratton also said he is “a lifetime Republican” who “has never voted Democrat.”

Stratton spoke about several of his goals if elected sheriff, as he said that he would like to pursue funding to expand operations and add to the HCSO staff.

“If elected, I will apply for the COPS grant to add three additional patrol deputies to the division at no additional cost to the taxpayers to provide more patrol hours in our community,” Stratton said. “I would like to add a patrol lieutenant for oversight and seek funding for two police K-9s. I will reapply for the Ohio Public Safety Traffic Grant for $40,000 for extra deputies to enforce traffic control throughout the county. I will work with villages and townships to seek grant funding for additional patrol services from the Sheriff’s Office.”

Stratton said that for criminal investigations, he would like to apply for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant “to increase staffing and to expand the county task force targeting drug traffickers and the ever-rising human and sex trafficking.”  

On the civil side, Stratton said he will continue to ensure the HCSO will “meet requirements for service of the sex offender registration, notification and address verification; civil process for the Common Pleas Court; sheriff sales of real estate; CCW permits; BCI/FBI and local background checks; and public record requests.”

In addition to the efforts he has already taken, Stratton said he wants to “improve our community policing each year to provide a better service.”

Stratton said he would also like to expand communications with the public with more frequent sheriff’s reports. He noted that many of his goals involve seeking funding to add to the HCSO staff, because the office has not “increased manpower since the layoffs in 2008.

“We currently have 50 employees, and that's five less than we have when we opened the building out there, the Justice Center, in 2001,” Stratton said. “I’ve seen every other county agency increase.” 

Stratton also said that his being elected sheriff “will ensure continuity and no setbacks for the office,” as he has been responsible for hiring 40 of the 50 current employees and for recommending the promotion of 10 out of 12 supervisors at the HCSO.

“That's the biggest thing, I want to continue that continuity,” Stratton said. “I don’t want to see change [with staffing].”

Through his involvement with the Buckeye State Sheriffs' Association, Stratton said that he has earned the support of “several sheriffs throughout the state of Ohio.” He also spoke about former Sheriff Horst, whom he said “has been a career mentor to me,” and current Sheriff Barrera. He said the support they have shown for him in his campaign, as well as the help they have given him throughout his career, have been invaluable.

“Tom Horst is the one who gave me the start, and that's when I just kind of worked my way through the ranks,” Stratton said. “Donnie Barrera promoted me and gave me the intentions to learn and gain all the knowledge. I’ve spent the last 10 years preparing myself to be the next sheriff for the county.

“We've worked our whole career together. He started in ’93, and I started in ’95. He was my training officer, and he showed me all the ropes.”

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