‘I shattered that glass ceiling’: Meet Kandy Fatheree, Summit County’s new sheriff
Kandy #Kandy
Kandy Fatheree decided she wanted to be Summit County sheriff when she attended the FBI Academy in 2008.
She looked at the others in the academy — almost all men — and realized she was as qualified to lead as any of them.
More: 5 things to know about Kandy Fatheree, Summit County’s first female sheriff
She rose through the sheriff ranks and waited for her chance, seizing it in 2020 when Sheriff Steve Barry opted not to run again.
Fatheree defeated male colleagues with years of experience in the primary and general elections — and was sworn in earlier this month.
Fatheree is the first female sheriff in Summit County and one of only six women to serve in this role in Ohio, including the newly elected Hamilton County sheriff.
“I shattered that glass ceiling,” Fatheree said during a lengthy interview in the office she hasn’t quite had time to settle into yet.
Fatheree, 62, talked candidly to the Beacon Journal about her past, the election and her ambitious plans for what she hopes is the first of at least three four-year terms. She thinks it will take that long to accomplish her goals that include better educating deputies about diversity, addressing mental health problems and recidivism at the jail, and modernizing and improving operations.
Though she didn’t earn the backing of Barry — who crossed party lines to endorse the Republican candidate in the November election — many in the community are excited about Fatheree taking over the office and offering a fresh perspective and enthusiasm.
“I think we can see this as an opportunity — that the people of Summit County are committed to change,” said the Rev. Greg Harrison, the pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Akron and one of several prominent Black leaders Fatheree met with during her campaign.
Barry, who had served as sheriff since 2013, said he supported Shane Barker, the Republican candidate, for personal reasons. He now wishes Fatheree the best of luck.
More: Summit County’s Democratic sheriff endorses Republican candidate
“The voters have spoken,” said Barry, who was with the sheriff’s office for more than 40 years. “She’s the new sheriff. I love that agency — and all its people.”
Humble beginnings
Fatheree grew up in Springfield Township in a two-bedroom home, one of six kids.
She never dreamed of going to college and figured she’d end up in a blue-color job.
By the time she reached her 30s, Fatheree had been married and divorced twice and was a single mother.
Ruth Dawson, Fatheree’s mother, said her daughter was a little lost. She encouraged her daughter to join Harvestime Apostolic Temple, the church Dawson attends in Hartville, where Fatheree began to regain her footing.
Fatheree, who worked in insurance before her second marriage crumbled, told her mother she wanted to pursue her life-long dream of going into law enforcement.
“I thought it was a good idea,” said Dawson, who lives in Alliance. “I thought it would give her a purpose, a reason to do something positive.”
Dawson said she didn’t worry about her daughter entering a male-dominated field. She said Kandy spent her childhood standing up to her brothers and standing up for her sisters.
“In the middle of those boys, she had to fight,” Dawson said. “That’s what she did when she started in law enforcement. She’s a fighter.”
After completing the academy, Fatheree joined the Lakemore Police Department, where she was the only female officer. She sat on pillows to see over the steering wheel because the cruiser seat had been worn down by her male colleagues.
“The chief was a little worried — I was 10 to 15 pounds lighter,” said Fatheree, who still has a slight build. “The guys I worked with were exceptional — they helped me in every way.”
During her time at Lakemore, Fatheree met and married Don Fatheree, her current husband who was then a sheriff deputy and has since retired. In 1995, Don encouraged her to apply for an opening at the sheriff’s office. She applied and was hired.
As a deputy, Fatheree spent time in just about every department — the jail, patrol, court services and court security.
She wasn’t satisfied, though, with being a deputy and had her eye on a promotion.
When Fatheree took the sergeant’s test and was passed over four male deputies, she and two other female deputies filed a federal lawsuit. She said her raw score placed her at No. 1, but with seniority points, she dropped down the list.
“They promoted men over us and didn’t give us a good explanation,” Fatheree said.
The sheriff’s office prevailed in the lawsuit but — under new Sheriff Drew Alexander — Fatheree and her female colleagues were promoted.
Alexander, the sheriff from 2000 to 2013, also promoted Fatheree to lieutenant and, in 2008, sent her to the FBI Academy, a leadership program that includes both mental and physical challenges.
“I always thought Kandy was a professional,” Alexander said. “Reliable. Dependable.”
When Fatheree faced off against several male colleagues in the race to replace Barry, Alexander didn’t take sides. He said he thinks she’ll do well and he’s already been impressed with the people she’s promoted.
“She needs quality people around her,” Alexander said.
Early days in office
Most of Fatheree’s first days in office have been spent on personnel and attending a week-long training for new sheriffs in Columbus.
Fatheree promoted Doug Smith to be chief of operations, and Richard “Rick” Armsey to be chief of corrections. Both have nearly 30 years with the sheriff’s office.
She also named someone from the outside — Eric Czetli — to be her chief of staff. Czetli was the clerk for Cuyahoga Falls court for 27 years and then worked for the Ohio Department of Transportation and as the Cuyahoga Falls service director. He led efforts to digitize records for the court, which has since moved to Stow, and to start video arraignments that have now become standard.
Fatheree hopes Czetli can look for ways to modernize the her office, including making documents more easily accessible and looking for new software. She wants the 410-employee office to be efficient and effective and for every position to be examined with that in mind.
“I think it’s time we don’t have, ‘It’s always been done this way,’” she said. “It’s time to change.”
In a promotional ceremony Thursday at the sheriff’s training academy in Green, Fatheree administered the oath of office for her chiefs, as well as five new sergeants. The new sergeants include Jennifer Tyler, a Black female, as well as Christopher Boyd, Daniel Horba, Peter Nervo and Matthew Poda.
Fatheree interviewed 10 sergeant candidates and told them her expectations – that they come to work on time, do the job and treat everyone with dignity and respect. For those who weren’t promoted, she told them they’ll get another shot. She also said they can talk to human resources about how to improve their chances.
Fatheree also plans to hire a diversity and outreach director — a new position that Summit County Council will consider at its Monday meeting.
Future goals
The new director will oversee two of Fatheree’s main goals — improving the office’s relationship with the community and providing diversity training.
“I want to make sure everyone in the sheriff’s office understands and can see the perspective of the other side,” she said of her 410-employee staff that includes 118 women and 45 minorities.
Fatheree said several Black ministers have offered to help with the training, which will include topics such as what it’s like for a Black person to be pulled over.
“I think we have to have an open dialogue,” she said. “It’s going to be a candid conversation.”
Fatheree wants the training to include improving diversity in recruitment. She recently met Sarah Shendy, a Copley police officer who now heads the state Office of Law Enforcement Recruitment. She’d like Shendy, who is Muslim and whose family is from Egpyt, to offer suggestions for attracting minorities, immigrants and women.
Fatheree also has in mind improvements at the Summit County Jail, which long been the most challenging aspect of the sheriff’s duties. Summit County recently settled a federal lawsuit filed by the estate of Antony Jones, an Akron man who died after an altercation with deputies in the jail in September 2017.
His family and others held weekly protests in 2017 demanding justice.
The lawsuit claimed Jones, 36, “was assaulted, beaten, tasered, restrained, and otherwise subjected to excessive force.” The suit alleged excessive force, deliberate indifference to medical or mental health needs and wrongful death.
Summit County Council approved a settlement in September of up to $2.4 million in exchange for Jones’ estate dismissing the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it can’t be refiled. The case was dismissed in December.
More: Summit County reaches tentative settlement in inmate death lawsuit
Fatheree said services need to be improved for inmates with mental health problems, possibly including setting up a special unit for this purpose.
The sheriff also wants to try to reduce recidivism among the jail’s 550 inmates, of which 70% to 80% are repeat offenders. She’d like to connect inmates with community resources that can address the underlying reasons they got into trouble, such as a lack of employment and education. By helping people address these problems, she said, this might help keep them from returning to the jail.
“I believe we can help the majority,” she said.
Ryan Fraley, who heads the 285-member union for deputies, said he hopes Fatheree will consider boosting staffing at the jail.
“We’ve been short for a long time,” he said. “A lot are working a lot of overtime. It wears on you after awhile when people are constantly working, working, working.”
Fatheree said she’ll need to work with the unions on the changes she has in mind and will be constrained by what’s possible under her office’s $44.6 million annual budget. She hopes many of her goals can be accomplished by tapping into existing services.
Harrison, who was an Akron police officer and a Cuyahoga County deputy before becoming a pastor, said Fatheree has a big job ahead. He hopes the community will support her.
“We have to all be supportive and be forgiving and give her the opportunity to not get it right the first time,” he said. “That’s the challenge for us. We have to give her the opportunity to grow.”
When times get tough, Fatheree can look at a photograph in her office of her 7-year-old granddaughter holding the Bible during her recent swearing-in ceremony — and remember why she took on this role.
“I want her to have every opportunity,” she said of her granddaughter. “I don’t want her to have any ceilings.”
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.
About Kandy Fatheree
Personal: 62. Married to Don, a retired deputy sheriff. Has three children and six grandchildren. Lives in Akron’s Ellet neighborhood.
Education: Earned 19 credits from the University of Virginia during the FBI Training Academy in 2008 and completed a criminal justice associate’s degree from Eastern Gateway Community College in Steubenville in 2020. Graduated from Springfield High School in 1976.
Professional: Elected Summit County Sheriff in November. Joined the sheriff’s office in 1995 and was promoted to sergeant in 2003, lieutenant in 2007 and captain in 2016. Prior to this, worked for the Lakemore Police Department for three years.
Two words to describe her leadership style: Progressive, inspirational.
Favorite police/crime show: “Magnum P.I.” with Tom Selleck as the star.
Hobbies: Works out regularly and participated in the police and fire games for several years.
Favorite doughnut: Plain glazed.
Female sheriffs in Ohio
Maude Collins, Vinton County, 1925-1930
Edna Yoho, Harrison County, 1958-1959
Katherine Crumley, Belmont County, 1977-1980
Deborah Burchett, Clark County, 2017 to present
Kandy Fatheree, Summit County, 2021 to present
Charmaine McGuffey, Hamilton County, 2021 to present
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: ‘I shattered that glass ceiling’: Meet Kandy Fatheree, Summit County’s new sheriff