Two men falsely accused of drug possession and trafficking are suing Portage County Sheriff Bruce D. Zuchowski and three of his deputies in federal court, asking for a jury to determine unspecified damages.
The Portage County Board of Elections has dismissed the sheriff’s office from providing election security at the board office. Instead, security will be provided by Ravenna police.
About 150 people attended an emergency meeting of the Portage County NAACP at the Kent United Church of Christ to share concerns about social media posts made by Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski and its potential negative effect on voter behavior.
Portage County Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski seemed to encourage his friends and supporters to write down the addresses of people with Democratic yard signs, sparking accusations of voter intimidation.
Portage County Commissioner Tony Badalamenti arrived at the Ravenna Moose Lodge in September for an event to fund Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski’s re-election campaign. He thought he would take the opportunity to explain his recent budget decisions to the sheriff’s supporters.
Since 2020, the Portage County sheriff’s annual budget has increased by $8 million, and Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski is asking for an additional $4 million increase this year.
Just shy of midnight on Feb. 21, Ravenna police received a call reporting a suspicious person outside the Sherwin Williams store on West Main Street.
A deputy in the Portage County Sheriff’s Office was indicted on two counts of rape by a Cuyahoga County grand jury for an incident that took place Oct. 19 in Lyndhurst.
Police in Lyndhurst are investigating an unnamed Portage County sheriff’s deputy in relation to an alleged sexual assault reported on Oct. 19 at a time when the deputy was off duty.
The Portage County Sheriff’s Office made good on a pledge to adopt body cams this summer, purchasing over 150 body and dashboard cameras with plans to deploy them in January.
County Commissioners last week earmarked $500,000 in American Rescue Plan funds for equipment and renovations to the Portage County Sheriff’s Office dispatch center.
The dispatch center at the Portage County Sheriff’s Office could double in size, expanding from four to eight consoles, under an $800,000 plan the office proposed during the Sept. 1 county commission meeting.