“I remembered at that point that I wanted to be a K9 handler,” the Webster County Sheriff’s Office sergeant said. “It was a great connection that I think’s important.”

But as relations with some members of the public and law enforcement officers grow increasingly fraught amid nationwide protests calling for police reform, the pool for hiring new officers is dramatically smaller than it was when Walter entered the field.

While the Democratic sheriff candidate running against Sgt. Luke Fleener, a Republican, has always emphasized community outreach as one of his focal points in campaigning, he said a youth mentoring program could help reshape the relationship between youth and law enforcement.

“Is there something wrong?” he remembers one young Dayton student asking him as he helped Dayton Police Chief Nick Dunbar hand out stickers and candy at school — a heartbreaking moment that reminded him of a need for change.

-Submitted photo
Sgt. Tony Walter and his K9, Swamper, have given presentations for the Webster County Sheriff's Office to children in the county, one of the joys of the job that inspired the sheriff candidate to plan an idea around creating positive moments with law enforcement.

“We need to change that image,” Walter said. “I don’t want them to say, ‘uh-oh, the cops are here, something bad’s happened.'”

As officers and deputies tend to deal with folks at “the worst moments in their lives,” he said intentionally creating positive moments in their lives through one-on-one relationships — while far from a new concept — could help recalibrate the relationship between law enforcement and the public.

Walter announced plans, if elected, to establish a youth mentoring program that would pair youth determined to be a good fit by schools with a deputy for extra time to get the extra attention they need from a caring adult and do the things they love.

The program would have a two-fold affect, Walter said. It would remind deputies why they got into law enforcement, and would show kids that there’s at least one adult out there that cares.

“It can be draining on deputies, seeing all those negative moments,” Walter said. “That positive interaction, making that bond — it creates a great connection, trust … and friendship that brings positive energy back to the job.”

Being there for more than just the moments when they’re in trouble, he said, is how law enforcement can reestablish trust again.

After 16 years at the Webster County Sheriff’s Office, he said the program would be new to the department he hopes to lead soon.

“As far as kids go … there are a lot of bad images and bad things that are put out there (about law enforcement),” Walter said. “If all they’re seeing is the negative side of law enforcement, that’s the perception they’re going to get.”

The program he proposes, still in development, would utilize tools as simple as weekly phone calls with students to ask about their homework or how their extracurriculars are going, building a simple connection that pays dividends when a student is struggling.

“Maybe they’re not comfortable talking to anyone else about it, but that deputy friendship helps them reach out and talk,” he said.

Several times throughout the year, deputies could pick up their mentee during their shift for a fun outing they enjoy.

With positive feedback from a variety of school and community members so far, Walter said he has received valuable feedback in planning a meaningful effort. One eager to help shape the program, should Walter be elected, is Dr. Terry Moehnke, a Fort Dodge City Council member involved in several outreach programs.

“A mentoring program can restore a little bit of family values,” Moehnke said, helping mitigate myriad issues children deal with while growing up. “Anything we can do to engage the children and let them know that people care about them … anything we can do to advance that would be beneficial for the community.”

Interaction with a responsible, non-teacher adult by the time they’re in middle school, he said, can help shape their trajectory over a longer term.

“If we don’t (reach) them early and change behaviors before fifth or sixth grade, we’ve pretty much lost them,” Moehnke said.

But more than reaching one child, both Moehnke and Walter said the program, over time, would reach an entire generation of children in Fort Dodge, sending ripples that would last a lifetime.

“I can’t even describe the feeling, to look back as you’re close to retirement and see the students you’ve helped now do something with their life — positive things,” Walter envisioned.

Walter and Fleener will both be on the ballot as Webster County elects its next sheriff on Nov. 3.

“It’s not a bad idea,” Sgt. Luke Fleener, who is also vying for the sheriff’s seat, said in reaction to the announcement.

Fleener said that if deputies were able to and interested in devoting their time in a similar way with youth, he would encourage it. The nature of Walter’s proposal would make it easy to “piggyback” onto other existing programs in Fort Dodge, he said. He believed other existing programs, like DARE education, already give deputies a good presence with children in schools.

“DARE does the same thing, it exposes them to law enforcement at a young age,” he said, noting it could help with law enforcement recruitment in the long run.

But as far as the Republican candidate’s priorities go, he’s more focused on improving other things within the department first, like beefing up courthouse security measures and honing public safety services. While community outreach has consistently been a high priority expressed by his Democratic opponent, he said he would treat it as a midlevel priority if elected.

“(Public safety services) are the things I’m focused on and what the public expects us to do,” he said.

Fleener also proposed improvements to the jail and Webster County Law Enforcement Center, in partnership with the Fort Dodge Police Department. Currently, eight people in the Webster County Jail are awaiting trial for first-degree murder or attempted murder, a situation he said the facility was not built to handle.

The biggest obstacle come January, he said, would be recruiting law enforcement officers. With more retirements anticipated, it may prove challenging. Thanks to a variety of factors, he said law enforcement doesn’t quite have the appeal that it used to.

“I want to create a place where people are willing to come and get into this profession — that’s a huge obstacle,” Fleener said.

Part of that, he proposed, might involve creating a certification program that would be a “turn key” mechanism for both job candidates and the agency that would draw candidates to the department while potentially saving money on training.

“The top priority for us is for law enforcement officers to ensure safety for our citizens,” he said.

That would include further reducing the crime rate, with an emphasis on crimes that stem from substance abuse and addiction.