Dawanna Witt made history by ending up being the first Black female to be elected sheriff in Minnesota.
Witt quickly won election Tuesday night versus challenger Joseph Banks to end up beingHennepin County sheriff It’s the first time the county has elected an individual of color as sheriff.
Witt had 64.5 percent of the vote with 90 percent of Hennepin County districts reporting Tuesday night. Banks, a previous chief of rural and tribal authorities departments in Minnesota, made about 35 percent of the vote.
In January, Witt will take control of the workplace that presently utilizes 830 individuals and runs the county prison, all court security in the county, the Hennepin County criminal activity laboratory, and 911 dispatch for 25 of the county’s 45 cities.
Witt, 48, is presently a significant in the sheriff’s workplace and supervises the county prison and all court security. She has actually served in the position considering that 2019 after a 15-year profession in many functions at the Dakota County Sheriff’s Workplace.
Witt campaigned on her task experience and special course to police. She matured in south Minneapolis with relative who cycled through the prison. Witt ended up being a mom at 15 and finished high school and college with the aid of a social employee she states she’s still near today. Witt stated she shares much of the issues neighborhood members have actually revealed about authorities violence versus individuals of color.
” I never ever anticipated to see myself in police,” Witt informed Sahan Journal last month. “I have not forgotten where I originated from.”
Witt promised to continue an instruction begun by her predecessor that restricts the county prison from sharing prisoner info with the federal Migration and Customs Enforcement company. She likewise guarantees to continue a drug treatment program that enables prisoners to look for drug abuse treatment in prison.
Witt likewise made combating violent criminal activity a leading concern and stated among her first top priorities will be to hire 30 brand-new certified officers authorized in the existing spending plan.
Witt will change Sheriff Dave Hutchinson, who has actually been on medical leave considering that May. Hutchinson, who directly beat long time Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek in 2018 on a progressive platform, had a rocky last year in workplace following an inebriated driving rollover crash in December 2021.