New law eases aid process among sheriff’s departments

State lawmakers passed House Bill 1936 which went into affect Aug. 1.

The new law allows a county sheriff’s department to request aid from any other county in the state, instead of only the counties with which it shares a border.

The summary states, “Any sheriff, or deputy sheriff sent by a sheriff, responding to a request for assistance in another county is considered an employee of the sending sheriff’s office and will be subject to benefits and provisions provided to him or her as an employee of the sending sheriff’s office.”

“That mutual aid is really important because my jurisdiction ends at the county line and by [other departments] having this option, it allows me to serve under whatever department asks of me,” said Capt. John Wheeler, with the Cole County Sheriff’s Department. “Now, it’s going to be a lot easier to make sure that the citizens of Missouri are protected.”

Wheeler recently won the Republican nomination for Cole County Sheriff and is running unopposed in November.