Kevin Turner takes oath to become Madison County’s new sheriff

HUNTSVILLE — Jan. 14 was a big day for Kevin Turner and the multitudes who flocked to his investiture at the Madison County Courthouse to support him as he took an oath to become the new sheriff serving Madison County.

After about 20 months of campaigning, Turner was elected sheriff during the 2018 midterm elections on Nov. 6. He succeeds the recently retired Sheriff Blake Dorning, who served in law enforcement for 35 years. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith, and now this is the season and the time for my retirement,” he said in a recent statement. “To you, the citizens of Madison County, I say ‘Thank You.’”

Kind words abounded for the new sheriff from friends, coworkers and officials during the ceremony. Tim Gann conducted the meeting and shared his own thoughts on Turner as he begins this new chapter.

Gann noted Turner’s “goodness” and “spirit of joy,” gifts he said Turner would use in his new position.

“Kevin is a good man, and we need good men to take leadership roles and to stand up and not be afraid to serve, and I appreciate that he is willing to go through this campaign that he has just gone through, and he is willing to do the job,” Gann said. He gave credit to Turner’s parents, Sue and Howard Turner. Howard has also had a long career in local law enforcement.

Before he gave the invocation, Pastor Ross Jaeger thanked Turner for his service and work thus far. “The people around you are deeply loyal, and I think we all know that this job that you’re stepping into is the right next step for you, and it’s good for us all, so thank you,” he told Turner.

Jay Town, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, said he was “hopelessly biased” toward the new sheriff, who he considers a dear friend.

Town also spoke of the immense challenges and responsibilities law enforcement men and women face every day out of a sense of duty. “They do it for their community,” he said. “They do it for their families. They do it for their neighbors. They do it for their friends. They do it out of duty, and duty is endowed by commitment. It’s endowed by sacrifice. It’s endowed by the honor that it gives to represent a community, and I have no doubt that our sheriff has all those virtues that endow the badge, has all of those virtues that endow the service that he will bear out as a sheriff of Madison County.”

Town said he is confident that Turner will be a successful leader and supporter for the Madison County Sheriff’s Department who will take the department to new heights.

“Sheriff Turner, you are a good man,” Town said. “You’re an honorable man, and I’m proud for you. I’m biased, hopelessly so, but I’m equally confident in your ability to lead this department. Congratulations, my friend.”

Sheriff Joe Patterson and Madison County District Attorney Rob Broussard also shared a few words on watching Turner flourish in his career.

“There’s no way to convey to you the kind of work Kevin Turner has done for this community, both through the sheriff’s department early in his career and then later as the chief investigator in the Madison County District Attorney’s office,” Broussard said. “There’s no way to convey what he’s done for this community. If I start in on what kind of man he is, I’m wasting some breath because everyone in here knows what kind of man he is. Tim [Gann] said it—he is a guy who’s always treated people with dignity and respect.”

Broussard presented Turner with a plaque to thank him for his service in the district attorney’s office and to congratulate him on his new position as sheriff.

Turner was joined by his wife, Corley, and young son as Circuit Judge Alan Mann administered the oath. Turner said the event was “probably the most humbling thing” that has happened to him during his career, and he thanked his family for “giving me to the county” over the last 20 months on the campaign trail. He also thanked many others, including his mother, Sue, his campaign team, Patterson, Broussard and more.

Turner spoke of how he was inspired from a young age to go into law enforcement after watching his father excel in the same career. He felt this same inspiration from several men who have served before him.

“That’s what I grew up around, and I knew law enforcement was the route that I was going to go,” he said.

After he finally did enter law enforcement in the early 1990s, thanks to Patterson, and was introduced to the sheriff’s department, it was an event that Turner said “changed my life.”

From the moment he received his gun and badge and put on his county uniform, Turner said he felt at home, and he’s looking forward to returning home to the sheriff’s department in a new role.

Turner also touched on the importance of working with other departments, an opportunity he said he has had thanks to Broussard. He also gave credit to Dorning for opening the doors to the department. “I am here to work with each and every one of you—I’m going to do everything in my power to move the department forward,” he told all the men and women of his department. “I’m not ever going to do anything or ask you to do anything that I wouldn’t do, and I am going to be holding everyone, including myself, at another standard.”

Frank Barger, who had his own investiture later that day to become probate judge, was in attendance to witness Turner take his oath. Turner joked that their campaign signs were often seen standing together leading up to the midterms.

“Frank has become one of my closest friends,” he said. “Throughout the campaign … he used to tell me when I was doing the wrong stuff, and he used to tell me I needed to work more or work harder, so thank you, Frank, and your family, and I appreciate you.”

As his investiture came to a close, Turner made one thing clear: he’s “ready to go to work.”

“I love each and every one of you, and I promise you that I’m going to do everything in my power to make us the best department in the state if we’re not already,” he added. “That is a fact.”