The 2026 Cullman Tribune Debate Series: Cullman County Sheriff

0:47 Hello and welcome to the beautiful Bailey Center Auditorium on the campus of Wallace State Community College in

0:52 Hanceville. Thank you to our gracious host, Wallace State Community College, and to Dr. Vicki Carlick for helping

0:58 make this event possible. The 2026 Tribune Debate Series continues tonight with a race for Cullman County Sheriff

1:06 featuring candidates Tim Crill and Chad Whaley. These events are designed to give the

1:11 public unfiltered answers, direct comparisons, and meaningful conversation. Candidates do not receive the questions ahead of time. The goal is

1:19 simple, give voters a better understanding of who is prepared, who understands the office, and who can

1:25 explain how they would serve the people of Cullman County. The Sheriff's office is one of the most visible and important

1:32 offices in county government. The Sheriff is responsible for law enforcement operations, jail oversight,

1:38 patrol, investigations, courthouse security, school resource officers, public safety partnership, personnel decisions, training, budgeting, and

1:48 public trust. This race is about more than campaign signs, endorsements, or political talking points. It is about

1:55 who understands the responsibility of leading a law enforcement agency, managing a jail, protecting

2:01 constitutional rights, supporting deputies, and serving the public with fairness, professionalism, and and accountability. With all that being

2:09 said, let's go to it. Now for the rules. Rules for the candidates are as

2:14 followed. No electronic devices are permitted on stage. Questions will alternate so no one candidate answers

2:22 first or last more than the other. Opening statements are limited to 60 seconds and may be prepared. Time

2:30 allotted per question will be up to 3 minutes. Closing statements are limited to 90

2:36 seconds and must be spoken without notes. Each candidate is allowed one rebuttal per question, but only if one

2:44 candidate directly names or calls out the other. Rebuttals are limited to 45 seconds.

2:50 Facts only, no accusations without proof. If an unsupported accusation is made, additional response time may be

2:58 given to the opposing candidate. Voters deserve substance over slogan. Talking points will not be enough.

3:06 Each candidate will now be given 60 seconds for an opening statement. We will begin with Tim Cril.

3:16 >> Ladies and gentlemen in this packed house, you know um I'm I'm missing we

3:24 the um I've spent my most of my adult life in law enforcement. This is just the next step.

3:34 Cullman County needs and deserves the continuation of the historical greatness that it's been over the past few years

3:42 and several years actually. When I first started in '87 here as a reserve, I

3:48 looked up to those people and that I worked with and they were role models to me and it

3:53 was a certain culture that you worked in. You were ready to go back to work

3:57 the next day. When you get off work, you would clean your car, you would fix your uniform,

4:01 you get it ready to go to work when you went back. I drove an old Crown Vic that

4:06 had 300,000 mi on it with oil in the trunk and tools back there because hey,

4:11 but I was proud of it. It was my car. I want to I'm not saying that we don't

4:17 have that culture here now, but I will continue that culture and I want to

4:21 restore some of that old culture to the Sheriff's Office. The retention Clicking. You're clicking me?

4:27 >> Yeah. Sorry. >> To be continued. >> Mr. Whaley, your opening statement, sir.

4:36 >> Thank you Noah for for having this. I think it's great to get to come out

4:39 anytime we can address the public, especially this close to the election. For the last 27 years I've served the

4:45 citizens of Cullman County right here at the Cullman County Sheriff's Office. I've served in almost every facet from

4:51 the jail to patrol, SWAT team, defensive tactics, a school resource officer and part of the command staff for the last 6

4:58 years. My goal is to keep Cullman County special and what that means is a

5:04 collaboration between a Sheriff's Office that in my opinion is the best in the

5:07 state along with the citizens of Cullman County which is what truly makes Cullman

5:12 County special. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir, for your response and Chad, we'll stay with you for this first

5:19 question. The Sheriff's Office is responsible for patrol, investigation, jail operations, school resource officers, personnel and

5:29 public trust. If elected, what would be your top three priorities in the first

5:36 100 days and how would residents be able to measure whether progress is being

5:41 made? >> For me, and of this goes back to obviously my career leading up to this point. Our children

5:53 are always going to be the the most valuable part of society, and it's the

5:58 most important thing when it comes to safety. So, we've got to ensure that

6:02 they are safe first and foremost. So, there will be a lot of attention placed

6:05 on the school resource officer program. Um number one, it it is a must that we

6:11 protect them the best way we can, and and that will be including to add

6:16 resource officers uh to the high schools. Um currently, we have two resource officers at three

6:21 schools. That leaves four high school campuses that we need additional resource officers. So, we're going to do

6:27 everything we can to to add those. Um the the next thing is going to be

6:32 training. Um and this goes hand in hand not only with the schools, but across

6:36 the board. In order for the sheriff's office to be the best that it possibly

6:39 can be, every deputy needs to be the best they can be. And the way that that

6:44 works is each individual needs to be better, and that's done and accomplished through training. Lastly, I would like

6:51 to establish a warrant division, um and this will be multifaceted. It would allow us to target certain crime crime

6:58 high crime areas. It'll also allow us to bring justice to the victims that are

7:05 out there um that are waiting on their offenders to to be arrested. Um and this

7:11 warrant division will allow us to focus on that to get these criminals off the

7:14 street because oftentimes the ones that have warrants on them, they're still out there. Well, guess what they're doing?

7:20 They're committing new crimes. So, it it allows us to do multiple things by

7:24 having this warrant division. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir, for your response. Mr. Crews, same question. The sheriff's

7:32 office is responsible for patrol, investigations, jail operations, school resource officers, personnel, and public

7:41 trust. If elected, what would be your top three priorities in the first 100

7:46 days and how would residents be able to measure whether progress is being made?

7:52 >> So, immediately reform and reestablish a narcotics enforcement unit. That causes all the property crimes. It's it's

8:01 known. I've worked in s- couple agencies and in in every one of them, I see it. If you

8:09 don't have an active, aggressive narcotics unit, your property crimes are going to be higher. It's just the way it

8:15 is. Uh the next thing is we're going to reform an internet crimes against

8:20 children task force. Maybe only a couple of people and the pushback on that has been out of the

8:27 public. Some p- some of the pushback has been, "Well, if you put somebody in that

8:32 task force they got to task force they got to work all over the state." That's

8:34 not That's not the case. They can stay in Cullman County and and concentrate on

8:39 Cullman County. Um if we have the money to put additional school resource officers in

8:45 the schools, I think they need to be on patrol. I think we need to add them to patrol

8:50 because that's where that's where currently the issue is. If you do a threat assessment right now,

8:57 do your burglaries and thefts and your sex crimes and your other stuff, does it

9:01 happen in the schools or does it happen in the public? Patrol is short. We need more patrol

9:06 guys. If we get the budget for those and extra school guys, great. As far as a warrant division,

9:13 everywhere I've ever worked serves warrants. I mean, it's I'm not saying that's a bad

9:18 idea, but why are we not serving warrants already? I serve warrants every day.

9:23 Just about. I mean, I help our patrol guys serve them. So, you can serve

9:26 warrants. That's it. >> All right. Thank you, sir, for your response and we'll stay with you for

9:33 this next question. Cullman County includes rural communities, municipalities, and fast-growing areas with different public safety needs. How

9:43 would you evaluate patrol coverage, response times, and deputy visibility across the county? And what would you

9:51 change if some areas are underserved? >> My turn? >> Yes, sir. >> Okay. So, you got to know where you're

9:59 at before you know where you're going. So, it's imperative that you do statistical analysis on clearance rates.

10:07 Uh you got to do you got to look at call times. You got to look at response times

10:11 and all that stuff. There's historical data on the CAD and the operating system

10:16 system. I think Cur- Cullman currently uses Spillman. You can project You can do crime

10:23 projections and do a sliding scale, and I'm working on something like that. Instead of a 4:00 to 4:00 shift, you may

10:30 have deputies come in at 5:00 or 6:00 or 7:00 even. That way, during your peak

10:35 call time hours, you can maximize your patrol coverage. >> There's no listening. >> This for y'all anyways.

10:44 I think Brett, Noah. >> Yes, sir. >> Okay. You got a security problem?

10:48 >> I'm not aware of >> Okay. >> I >> Um >> Captain >> Cullman County includes rural

10:56 communities, municipalities, and fast-growing areas with different public safety needs. How would you evaluate

11:03 patrol coverage, response times, and deputy visibility across the county? And what would you change if some areas are

11:10 underserved? >> One of the things that that I think we we have done um that that's benefited

11:18 that area is is the the collaboration once again that we have with community.

11:22 We have our township deputies. Um currently we have Dodge City and Good Hope where we we have worked with the

11:27 town to include more deputies on patrol to those specific areas, which which allows us to have more guys on patrol.

11:34 It aids with call time, call response time. And then obviously it it's a constant evaluation.

11:41 Um and the sheriff has done a a good job and we hope to continue that of

11:46 communicating with the community while looking at those stats, looking at the call times. And if there are areas that

11:52 need to be shifted, then we can focus those Excuse me. You can focus those utilizing

11:58 the guys that are already on patrol. And you can utilize the guys um during the

12:03 summertime, for example. We have a higher rate of crime around the the lake

12:07 area because the population grows so much. So what we're able to do at that

12:11 point is utilize our school resource officers and have them, since school is out, work those those areas as the as

12:18 the summer months hit and and they're no longer in school during that time.

12:23 Thank you. >> Thank you, sir, for your response. Mr. Riley, we'll stay with you for this next

12:27 question. Staffing, retention, and morale affect every part of the sheriff's office, from patrol and investigations to detention

12:36 and school safety. What specific steps would you take to recruit qualified employees, keep experienced staff, and

12:44 improve training without creating unrealistic budget demands? >> For the last 6 years, I've been part of

12:53 the the hiring team and and sit in on multiple interviews and part of the

12:57 hiring process. And and that's one of the things that nationwide law enforcement is battling

13:03 um as far as hiring good personnel and then obviously keeping good personnel. And I think the key going forward, it's

13:10 it's the little things. And what I mean by that, you have good quality

13:15 supervisors that know that their role is to motivate, is to have guys be proud of

13:23 the job that they're doing. And by doing that, you're able to establish people

13:29 people's morale from a level of it's just not a paycheck. It's more important. It's part

13:35 of the community. It's wanting to be at the sheriff's office, wanting to wear

13:40 that badge, wanting to serve the the citizens. And it starts with leadership. If you have good leaders at the top, you

13:47 have good supervisors on the shift, good supervisors in the jail, they're the ones that are maintaining that morale.

13:53 They're the ones that are that are making sure that the guys' mental health is where it

13:59 should be. If they're having issues at work, they recognize it because they have those relationships, and we stay on

14:05 top of it, and we're able to do those things. Again, to get quality personnel,

14:11 and then to keep quality personnel. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir. And Mr. Pearl, same question. Staffing,

14:21 retention, and morale affect every part of the sheriff's office, from patrol and investigations to detention and school

14:28 safety. What specific steps would you take to recruit qualified employees, keep experienced staff, and improve

14:36 training without creating unrealistic budget demands? >> First of all, you have to lead from the

14:43 front. If you're not willing to do the task you're asking your people to do,

14:47 then don't ask them to do it. And if you haven't done those tasks,

14:51 don't ask them to do it cuz you're not familiar with that. Uh or if you're not

14:55 willing to do it, uh you have to lead from the front. You have to provide a

15:01 a uh a culture of professional development. Um when you do that, and you you also have

15:08 to it has to be a career, like he said, not just a job. It has to be a career.

15:12 Uh you you have to want you have to maintain your um experience in those

15:17 positions. Um when you people start looking around to leave, you got to you got to find out why. You you got to

15:24 find out what's wrong with that culture. Why are they wanting to leave? When you have a high turnover rate,

15:29 there's usually a core problem. But the only way to know that is to is do a

15:33 climate survey. I think that's very important. Department wide, every so often you do a

15:39 climate survey and that's an anonymous way for people to express their Sometimes it's trivial stuff. But if all

15:47 of it's just pointing in the same direction, then you need to address those issues.

15:53 >> Thank you, sir. >> And we'll stay with you for this next question. The sheriff leads sworn

15:58 deputies, investigators, detention officers, school resource officers, and administrative staff. What would your command structure look

16:07 like and how would you make sure supervisors are held accountable for the performance and conduct of the people

16:15 under them? >> Command structure, how it looks, you got the sheriff and the chief and then you

16:21 got the command staff. Now, I'm a firm believer that the command staff could

16:24 operate with less people. I'm not saying if I get elected, I'm going to remove

16:29 people from those positions, but as attrition happens, the top heaviness need can go away a little somewhat and

16:36 trim the fat, so to speak. The more fat you trim at the top of those positions,

16:41 the more money you can pay these guys in the middle and at the bottom. That helps

16:45 with retention and recruiting. Um What was the other part of it? >> What would your command structure look

16:54 like and how would you make sure supervisors are held accountable for the performance and conduct of the people

16:59 under them? >> So, I'm also a firm believer that supervisors, like FTOs, shouldn't be a

17:04 two or three-year thing and then you say, "Okay, you want to be an FTO?" FTO

17:09 needs to be subject matter expert in their field. I would say five years. I

17:13 would say six or seven as an entry-level like a patrol sergeant. And when you get

17:18 in a part when you get a department or an agency that has that

17:22 build that building blocks of those of that experience, you'll see a you'll see

17:27 operational effectiveness go up, and you'll see recruiting or retention go up, and you'll see attrition go down. Thank you.

17:37 >> Thank you, sir, for that response. Mr. Whaley, same question. The sheriff leads sworn deputies, investigators,

17:43 detention officers, school resource officers, and administrative staff. What would your command structure look like, and

17:51 how would you make sure supervisors are held accountable for the performance and conduct of the people under them?

18:00 >> One of the benefits of being at the sheriff's office for as long as I've

18:03 been there, I I know the people. And the strength of the sheriff's office

18:08 is always going to be the people. And I think it's very important for a leader

18:14 to know what he knows, but also know what he doesn't know. And that's why

18:17 it's so important to have those good people around you that you can lean on,

18:22 that you can trust, that are going to be those leaders that hold everybody accountable. Because it

18:29 does start with the sheriff, and the sheriff is the one that will hold

18:32 everyone accountable. But you also have to have a team. You also have to have those people in place

18:39 that that know the people, that know the job, that in and out from top to bottom,

18:44 they know the responsibility, they're going to hold each other accountable. And that's one of the things that I

18:50 think we've done a great job of at the sheriff's office is putting people in

18:55 positions to be successful. Because not everybody's made for every position. So, when you find the person

19:01 that that is that right leader, that is that right supervisor, then not only

19:06 does that individual benefit from it, but it's everybody underneath them, and then it becomes department-wide. You've

19:12 got to have that that circle in place. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir. And we'll stay with you

19:18 for this next question. Drug enforcement remains one of the most visible responsibilities of the

19:24 Sheriff's Office, especially involving fentanyl, methamphetamine, and repeat offenders. What should the Sheriff's Office be

19:31 doing differently, if anything, to target major suppliers, while also addressing addiction, treatment needs,

19:39 and repeat low-level offenses? >> Back in 2019, the Sheriff's Office did away with its traditional drug unit. Not

19:49 because we quit caring about drugs, but it it simply was no longer the most

19:53 effective and efficient way to battle the drug problem. Um there's a couple of different ways

19:59 that that we can approach this, and and for me, the key is very simple. We we've

20:04 got to figure out how to get ahead. Because law enforcement is largely reactive. We need to become more

20:10 proactive. Um the warrant division allows us to do a couple of those things. We can target high crime areas.

20:16 We can take the burden of having to serve warrants off the patrol guys,

20:20 which allows us to or allows the patrol guys to be more proactive on the

20:24 streets. Um if you've paid attention to the the papers in the last couple of

20:28 weeks, we've made trafficking cases um from a patrol standpoint. We also have investigators that work those

20:35 hand-in-hand with our with our patrol guys to be proactive. We've got to figure out, again, how to

20:42 get ahead of the curve. Because there are a lot of agencies that that have

20:47 traditional drug units. A lot of agencies around us that have traditional drug units.

20:51 And what they also have are drug problems. The traditional drug unit is is is not

20:57 the answer going forward. We've got to figure out how to get ahead of it.

21:02 Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Wooley. And Mr. Cruel, same question. Drug enforcement remains

21:09 one of the most visible responsibilities of the Sheriff's Office, especially involving fentanyl, methamphetamine, and

21:16 repeat offenders. What should the Sheriff's Office be doing differently, if anything, to target major suppliers

21:23 while also addressing addiction, treatment needs, and repeat low-level offenses? >> Reform a drug unit. If I

21:34 If I had a better answer for that, I would give it to you, but there is none.

21:38 There's not a better answer for that. I do this every day. I work these felony

21:42 cases, thefts, robberies, everything. And if we If I didn't have Not only do you

21:49 Not only do you work dope when you have a drug unit, you also have a network of

21:54 informants. I have solved homicides, burglaries, all kind of crimes by calling my drug unit and saying, "Hey,

22:02 find out who's doing this, find out who's doing that." Last year we had a homicide where our

22:08 drug guys informant brought us the guy that did the shooting. So, without that

22:13 intelligence network, well, without a drug unit or an intelligence unit focused on the drugs and the high-level

22:19 narcotics trafficking, you're not going to have that network. You got to I mean, if there was a If we

22:25 could wave our wand and dope go away, and we're never going to 100% get rid of

22:31 drugs. Don't let anybody kid you. But, we can put a dent in it. But, you got to

22:35 start. You got to start. And you can't just say, "Well, uh that's not working

22:40 right now, so we'll try something else." No, it works. You got to have the right

22:43 personnel. They have to be trained. They have to be experienced. There's some people in this room that

22:49 can do it. They have the experience to do it. But, they have to have the backing of

22:54 the agency, and they have to have the blessing of the agency. Thank you.

22:59 >> Thank you, Mr. Cruel, and I'll to with you for this next question. The

23:02 Sheriff's Office handles serious cases involving violent crime, theft, domestic violence, child exploitation, missing

23:11 persons, and crimes against vulnerable victims. How would you set investigative priorities while making sure victims and

23:19 families receive timely communication? >> So, if I'm elected under my administration, no victim will be less

23:29 than the other victim. I don't care what your social status is. I don't care your

23:33 race, color, creed, any of that. If you're a victim, you're a victim, and

23:37 you'll be treated as a victim. But, at the same token, if you're a criminal, I'm coming after

23:43 you just as hard as I would I don't care if you're a CEO or a ditch digger, I'm

23:46 going to come after you. So, you have to equally apply that across the board for the citizens of Colleton

23:53 County. Um one of the things that will improve um our ability to help victims will be

23:59 the internet crimes against children. We have to have a task force. We have to have a task force person for

24:05 that. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir. Mr. Whaley, same question. The Sheriff's Office handles serious cases

24:14 involving violent crimes, theft, domestic violence, child exploitation, missing persons, and crimes against vulnerable victims. How would you set

24:24 investigative priorities while making sure victims and families receive timely communication? >> Communication is is the key, not only

24:34 for the victims, but also for for our investigators. That's That's one of the

24:38 things that we've got to establish now at the Sheriff's Office. We have investigators that that work

24:43 collaboratively. They all work together, so we have guys that are working property crimes and drugs and thefts,

24:50 and and we have two devoted um investigators that work um basically sexual crimes. And And the key

24:57 to that is that often times these these cases are related. So by all of the

25:04 these investigators collaboratively working together, we often times are able to solve multiple crimes. Um,

25:11 from the standpoint of a communication with the public, the biggest thing is our victims are just that. They're

25:17 they're victims looking for justice. And in law enforcement, it's real easy to to get stuck in a rut of I've got to

25:26 get to the next call. I've got to get to the next case because we are overworked

25:30 a lot of times. And the way that I always have talked to especially the the

25:35 young guys when I've been involved in their training, you should treat every case as if it was your mom.

25:41 Because if it was your mom, then then you would put everything you had into

25:44 that case in order to solve it. And and that's that should be the approach. Is

25:49 that every victim matters because if we're there, it's probably the victim's worst day. And we want to make sure that

25:55 we can do everything we can to make that worst day not quite so bad. Thank you.

26:01 >> Thank you, Mr. Whitley, and we'll stay with you for this next question. The

26:04 county jail is one of the sheriff's most serious responsibilities. How would you approach jail safety,

26:11 inmate medical needs, staffing shortages, contraband prevention, and the treatment of people who have not

26:18 been convicted but are awaiting trial? >> The jail itself is it's a it's a very

26:27 unique place to work. And it's it's also one of the most important places when it comes to the

26:33 sheriff's office. It's a huge responsibility. We we average roughly 430 inmates a day, so it is a huge

26:40 undertaking. And to kind of echo what I just said about a person's bad day, if

26:46 someone's in jail, the easiest way to to get through that day as as a deputy is

26:52 to treat everybody with respect cuz if you treat everybody with respect, you have a much better chance of of being

26:57 respected back. And And that's that's one of the most important things is show

27:02 respect to get respect. And if you do that, you lessen the likelihood of of

27:07 having to fight somebody, of of being in danger. It helps all those elements. As

27:12 far as the the other parts of this, it really goes back to training. You want

27:17 to make sure that the deputies that are working in that jail number one, have

27:21 the equipment that they need. Number two, they have the the training that they need. We've got a lot of young guys

27:26 and girls that go in that that are inexperienced. And so we have FTO

27:32 programs. We have training protocols that we put them through to give them the tools that they need to be

27:38 successful in that setting. And it is very important that they receive those tools in a timely manner and that the

27:46 supervisors ensure not only are they getting the training, but they're implementing the training that they've

27:50 received as well. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir. Mr. Krill, same question. The county jail is one of the

27:58 sheriff's most serious responsibilities. How would you approach jail safety, inmate medical needs, staffing

28:05 shortages, contraband prevention, and the treatment of people who have not been convicted but are awaiting trial?

28:15 >> As I said earlier, when you get to a point where you can

28:20 cut some of the fat at the top, you can pay those jailers more. That's why you

28:24 have a hard time recruiting jail staff. You got to be able to recruit better

28:28 well-higher paying jail staff, more desirable people, I guess. People with a little more experience in the real

28:34 world. Um the other thing is you can't let the clowns run the circus

28:38 for one. Um I've seen I'm I'm speaking for other jails I've worked I've worked

28:46 around never had to work in a jail, but I worked around several jails and I can

28:50 tell you there's some jails that are ran good and some that are not. The ones

28:54 that are ran not so good, the inmates are running the place basically. You

28:58 can't have that. You got to be stricter on them for one. Um you you have to feed them, you have to

29:05 house them, you have to provide medical care, make sure they don't kill each

29:08 other, make sure the guards don't abuse them. And and you got to feed them properly.

29:13 You got to feed them properly. But they don't have to have all these I mean you

29:18 need to shake them down all the time, make sure they don't get uh drugs in the jail and shivs and

29:23 everything else and you just got to be you got to be firm but fair.

29:28 >> Thank you, sir, for your response and we'll stay with you for this next

29:32 question. School resource officers have become a major part of public safety in Cullman

29:38 County. What should the role of an SRO be inside a school and where do you draw the line

29:45 between school discipline, student relationships, and law enforcement involvement? >> For I would draw the line when it

29:56 becomes when it becomes a crime. If it's on the code if it's a code that

30:01 says that that's a crime and you can charge them with it and you really need

30:04 to charge them with it. Maybe you know in juvenile court, especially if it's a

30:08 felony crime, then you draw the line. Otherwise, you let the school do their

30:12 administrative whatever they do. Um as far as training for SROs, I think uh for Cullman County

30:20 um they should all be SWAT certified. And then that's a mindset thing as much as

30:27 it as it is a mechanics of going through the motion thing. If I can tell you if

30:34 stuff bad happens, a SWAT trained SRO guy that maintains his training will go

30:41 toward the threat. You can look at the across the nation that the unfortunate school shootings

30:47 we've had, and you can see the difference the different responses of different agencies. And if you pick it apart,

30:56 you'll see what I'm talking about. There's some agencies that wait, they wait for backup, they wait for this,

31:02 they wait for that. And then I mean, no fault of their own, really.

31:07 It's just they don't know any better. And then people die. And then you see

31:11 like Nashville when they went straight and shot the guy or whatever he was.

31:16 Thank you. >> Thank you, sir, for your response. Mr. Whaley, same question. School

31:22 resource officers have become a major part of public safety in Cullman County. What should the role of an SRO be inside

31:30 a school, and where do you draw the line between school discipline, student relationships, and law enforcement

31:37 involvement? >> I was very fortunate to spend right at 12 years of my career as a school

31:45 resource officer. And the role of a resource officer in the schools is very, very in-depth because you are more

31:56 than a security guard. You are more than just a police officer. You become part

32:02 of that community. You become part of those kids' lives. You become part of

32:06 the teacher and the the teachers' lives, the faculty. You become part of that community unlike

32:12 any other law enforcement officer um that that's with the sheriff's office. And what that allows you to do is it

32:18 allows you to establish and build relationships that are vastly important moving forward. Because you have these kids, if you're

32:26 able to stay in the school long enough, you have the same students year after

32:31 year after year. So, what happens is you build a rapport and you build trust. So, when bad things

32:37 happen or drugs are on campus or bullying's going on or a theft occurs,

32:44 well, obviously, you're going to work all those because you are the law enforcement that's there.

32:49 But, what happens are the students, they come to you because they know you, they

32:53 trust you, and you become part of their lives as a representative of the

32:57 Sheriff's Office. And the great thing about that is it doesn't stop when the

33:01 bell rings. You actually go beyond the school. I still have parents and students that

33:06 call me when they have questions and problems, and I've been out of the

33:10 schools for over 6 years, because that's the kind of relationships that good resource officers build. And that's what

33:16 makes it so important to have good guys in the school, to have the ones that get

33:22 integrated with the students, that get integrated with the schools. You become part of that school, part of those

33:29 students' lives, and it makes a difference not just 8:00 to 3:00. It makes a difference for

33:37 lifetimes. And going forward, that school resource officer program is what really is going to help make a

33:45 difference in in Cullman County, especially, for years and years to come. Thank you.

33:51 >> Thank you, Mr. Whitley, and we'll stay with you for this next question. It's

33:55 kind of long, so if you need me to repeat anything for you, just let me

33:57 know. The Cullman County Sheriff's Office and Jail make up one of the largest portions

34:03 of county government spending. With CCSO receiving a major share of the county budget, at the same time, some towns and

34:13 municipalities pay additional money, in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, for Sheriff's Office

34:22 patrol and jail-related services, even though those residents also live inside Cullman County. How would you explain to

34:32 taxpayers what the base county budget covers, what municipal contracts cover, and how would you make sure those costs

34:42 are fair, transparent, and not duplicative? >> Well, obviously, one of the the most

34:49 important things and and biggest things that the sheriff has to has to manage is

34:53 the budget. If you're not a good steward of the citizens' money, then then it's

34:59 going to be very, very difficult to be successful. Uh the way it's currently

35:03 set up, the budget that the county commission allots for the sheriff's office, it covers basically salaries and

35:11 building maintenance. The other things that that the sheriff's office furnishes, um or that the the sheriff's office

35:18 needs, it's covered through discretionary funds, whether that's the the special needs funds or the the

35:24 special projects funds, rather, which is the rodeo. Um you have the work release, you have

35:31 federal and state inmates, that income comes in to the the sheriff's office and

35:35 the county commission through that, so there's multiple discretionary funds that allows us to do other things like

35:40 that. As far as the the municipalities go, the reason that these cities, these

35:47 townships have decided to do this is for extra. They are provided extra security, extra

35:55 patrols, by by allotting that money and and providing an an additional deputy, that's exactly what they get. They have

36:02 a deputy that remains within their city limits, so if there is a call,

36:07 Good Hope is an example. That's that has its own district or its own

36:13 township deputy, they don't have to wait for a district car to come because they

36:17 have that township deputy that's already there, so it lowers response times. So, what the the citizens of of Good Hope,

36:24 they are receiving more coverage because they are spending more money and and that's just the the the bottom line of

36:30 it and and working with the the cities, the townships, it's a win-win situation

36:36 because we're putting more deputies on patrol, more deputies on the streets, and the citizens of those towns are

36:42 getting just that, better response time, better coverage, better patrol. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir, for your response. Mr.

36:49 Cruel, same question. If you need me to repeat any part, just let me know.

36:54 >> Uh I don't have visibility of those numbers because I don't work there. I don't know

36:59 what the I know what the budget is. It was I think this year operating over 19

37:04 million from the general fund. I don't have visibility on the special uh account funds and stuff right now.

37:10 Um but I will say this, if you provide a town deputy program, it should be full

37:15 service. It should be everything, everything that you would expect to get with a police department. Uh for

37:21 instance, I think they're working on a deal now for Hansford's um school resource or not school resource uh town

37:27 deputy program. That should be full service, though. It You shouldn't have to wait an hour and a half for a trooper

37:32 at 2:00 in the morning for a minor traffic crash. Deputies can knock it out

37:36 in a few minutes. Uh it should be full service. They should be working traffic if they're

37:40 going to be a town deputy program. So, just some tweaks like that is different

37:46 what I would do. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir, for your response. And we will stay with you for this next

37:53 question. Public trust depends on accountability. How would you handle complaints against deputies, detention officers, or staff?

38:03 And what information should be available to the public while still protecting due process, personnel laws, and active

38:10 investigations? >> You can be as a sheriff in a sheriff's office, you can be transparent to a

38:17 certain point. When it becomes um when it would hinder an ongoing investigation or cause a security risk

38:25 for an operation that obviously you can't tell the public everything. But, the more transparent you are, the

38:31 quicker you can release body cam footage on incidents, uh, the better. Uh, that that will squash, uh, some of the

38:40 public outcry in a lot of cases. Uh, when I was a patrol when I was a district chief here, we

38:46 actually, uh, we were having some complaints and I was the Westside chief at Sheriff's

38:52 Office and I came up with my own policy that if someone wanted to complain on

38:58 one of my deputies, they would come in and talk to me and we would write out a

39:02 formal complaint. But, it was an incident report. But, you in law enforcement know if if we

39:09 investigate that and you file a false report, then hey, that's a misdemeanor charge. I explained it to them. Not

39:16 trying to suppress them to file report, but explained it to them. We're going to

39:20 watch the body cam, we're going to interview people. Um, you can't automatically take the public's side. You want to

39:29 believe them, but you also can't automatically take the employee's side. But, nine times out of I would say 99

39:37 times out of 100, it's not what you're hearing is the truth from the from the

39:43 from the public completely. They've have a bias in some point at some point. Uh,

39:48 but body cam footage, interviews, and past, uh, performances of that deputy will tell you a whole lot. Thank you.

39:55 >> Thank you, sir. Mr. Whaley, same question to you. Public trust depends on

40:00 accountability. How would you handle complaints against deputies, detention officers, or staff? And what information

40:07 should be available to the public while still protecting due process, personnel laws, and active investigations?

40:16 >> Law enforcement is always going to be held to a higher standard and and I

40:20 think we should be. If we're going to uphold the law, then we ourselves should

40:23 make sure that we're doing the same thing. Public trust is the the key in that

40:28 entire question and I think that's where having a great relationship with the community as a whole to where the

40:35 citizens of Cullman County put their trust in us. Where they trust when we come out with

40:42 information and it's two-sided because we do need to make sure that we are

40:46 sharing as much as we can and then the public needs to trust that we are

40:51 sharing as much as we can. If there's an active investigation ongoing, then then

40:56 we're not going to be able to share all the details. If there is information

41:00 that we either don't have or currently can't share, hopefully we can say that

41:05 and the public believes us and we we can go from there, but it's it's always

41:10 important to make sure that we hold ourselves, that the sheriff's office holds itself accountable to where if we

41:18 do something wrong, then then we're going to own it. We're going to live up

41:21 to it and and there's going to be consequences for those actions. And then again, the citizens need to to

41:28 understand that that we're on their side as well. We are we're not we're not

41:32 trying to trick anybody. We're not withholding information. We're not trying to cover anything up. We are

41:38 doing our due diligence. We are going to hold ourselves accountable. Sometimes that takes time and and sometimes the

41:44 the complaints, there's they're foundless. There there's nothing to it and and when we find that, we also need

41:50 to share that as well. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Riley, for that

41:55 answer and we will stay with you for this next question. The sheriff's office often works with

42:01 the police departments, state agencies, federal agencies, the district attorney, courts, schools, fire departments, and

42:09 emergency management. How would you build those partnerships while making sure the sheriff's office remains

42:16 independent, transparent, and accountable to Cullman County voters? >> Cullman County should always be the

42:24 first priority. Our job is to protect and serve the citizens of Cullman County

42:29 first and foremost. Um I'm not opposed to having guys on task force um if it benefits

42:37 Cullman County um but not at the expense of Cullman County. If it's going to pull them out

42:42 of the county to to try to work other cases where victims outside the county

42:47 are are being helped, I I would love to help every victim across the state,

42:51 across the country. However, my priority as the sheriff will always be the victims of Cullman County.

42:58 And as far as the collaboration, the relationships that we have, Cullman County has never had a better

43:05 relationship with surrounding agencies um from a state level to a local level than we do right now, and that's that's

43:12 something I'm very proud of, and I think that's a credit to all the men and women

43:15 who who wear the uniform for the sheriff's office, including the sheriff himself. We we've done a really good job

43:21 in the last several years of building and establishing those relationships because it does take a collaboration.

43:28 There are times when you're going to need the fire department, the the police

43:31 department, state agencies, whatever it may be, to again ensure that we're serving the citizens of Cullman County

43:37 first and foremost. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir. Mr. Creel, same question. The sheriff's office office

43:45 often works with police departments, state agencies, federal agencies, the district attorney, courts, schools, fire

43:53 departments, and emergency management. How would you build those partnerships while making sure the sheriff's office

44:00 remains independent, transparent, and accountable to Cullman County voters? >> The same way I'm doing every day.

44:08 Uh I do that now. I've got a I've got a work phone that that

44:13 She's got it right now. You still got it? Did you lose it? Okay. I got a work

44:16 phone that's probably got 300 contacts in it from Tennessee uh TBI guys to Tennessee local sheriff's

44:27 office guys, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, all over Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, you name it. My

44:33 fire depart- my fire department guys that I work with over there, um EMS people, judges,

44:41 uh attorneys. Networking's what it's about in law enforcement. And I've been doing this

44:47 for so long that uh every time I get a new phone, I transfer all that stuff

44:51 over and I might go for 5 or 6 years and need something in Atlanta. And I got a a

44:56 person at GBI that I can call up and say, "Hey, can you help me?" And that's how you got

45:02 to build those relationships. Um what was the part of the question? >> Uh

45:09 while building those partnerships, how do you make sure the sheriff's office remains independent, transparent, and

45:13 secure? >> So, about helping Cullman Cullman County residents, uh don't be naive and think that just

45:20 because there's a county line that that stuff don't spill over back and forth.

45:25 It does. So, as far as task force officers go, you may be working

45:30 something in you may be working something in New Orleans that directly affects Cullman

45:35 County. So, you can't look at it like, "Well, we're in a box here." We're not.

45:40 Uh we have the same problems that every other demographic similar us have. The The difference is we may not have

45:48 the raw numbers like Madison County or Montgomery or Jefferson County just because of the population, but we have

45:56 the same problems. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir. And we'll stay with you

46:01 for our final question. This office carries responsibility for public safety, jail operations, deputy leadership, school safety,

46:10 investigations, public money, constitutional rights, and the trust of Cullman County residents. Based on your

46:17 record, judgment, and leadership style, why should voters trust you to serve as Cullman County Sheriff?

46:26 >> I think to be a good leader, you have to know your limitations.

46:30 Uh you also have to know your capabilities. And how you're tested on those

46:35 is multi-faceted. It's a bunch of ways. Um I'm asking for your trust next Tuesday to be your Sheriff

46:46 because I've spent my entire adult life doing this job in the field, working the

46:51 cases, working narcotics. I was a patrol lieutenant or sergeant or lieutenant in two different sheriff's offices. Um I

47:00 was a captain over major crimes investigations at a sheriff's office. SWAT team leader.

47:07 Um I was a infantry squad leader, ran 40, I think 51 combat missions.

47:15 So, I've been tested in that. And I know what works and I know what

47:20 don't work. Um I've been criticized by a couple people for working at different

47:27 places. It opened my eyes up and gave me a different perspective. I can tell you there's agencies that do

47:33 certain things good, and there's agencies that do other things not so good. I can bring the good back to Cullman,

47:40 and that's my goal. >> Thank you, sir, for your answer. And Mr. Whaley, last question. This office

47:47 carries uh sorry, this office carries responsibility for public safety, jail operations, deputy leadership, school

47:55 safety, investigations, public money, constitutional rights, and the trust of Cullman County residents. Based on your

48:02 record, judgement, and leadership style, why should voters trust you to serve as Cullman County Sheriff?

48:12 >> For over 27 years, I've been at the Cullman County Sheriff's Office. And it's my opinion, and

48:20 it may be biased, Cullman County Sheriff's Office is the best Sheriff's Office in the state.

48:26 I've worked virtually every facet of the office. I know every in, I know every out. More

48:32 importantly, I know every person that wears that uniform. And what makes Cullman County Sheriff's Office so great

48:41 is just that. It's It's the people that work there. It's the relationships that

48:44 we've built. It's what we've done to establish not just the Sheriff's Office, but the

48:51 trust that the community has in us. And And going forward, I'm going to take

48:56 what's working. I'm going to take what we've done so well, and and I'm going to

49:01 make it better. 27 years, I've been preparing for this, whether I realized it or not. I've gone

49:08 through every door that that led me right here. And the next step is is just that.

49:15 Is as the Sheriff. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir, and thank you both. Now,

49:21 for our closing statement, each candidate will have 90 seconds for a closing statement, and must be spoken

49:28 without notes. Mr. Whaley, you will go first on the closing statements. >> Throughout this process,

49:37 and I'll I'll leave it at that. It's been a process. As it gets closer to election day,

49:45 I've really focused on why. Why am I running for Sheriff? And it's it's selfish. I'll admit it.

49:54 I want Cullman County to stay special. And it is. If you drive 30 minutes north

50:01 of here or 30 minutes south of here, it's a totally different world. I have three sons. Lord willing, they

50:07 will grow up here, maybe even have grandkids one day. And it's my goal to make sure that my

50:13 kids grow up in that same place, that same special Cullman County that I grew

50:18 up in. And I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that it stays that

50:22 way. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir. Mr. Fealy, you have 90 seconds for your

50:29 closing statement. >> Well, Chad, I agree with that. I grew up in Cullman County, too, and

50:36 you know, I remember not locking the doors, keeping the the cars the keys will be in

50:41 the cars, and we didn't think anything about it. But, we have the same problems now that

50:47 everybody does. I know you you know, yeah, you can drive 30 minutes north and

50:51 south. We still have the same problems, though. Um I want to keep the citizens safe, and I

50:57 want to provide full service to them, and I want to treat the sheriff's office

51:01 employees, even the lowest ones, uh just starting, brand new rookies, to let them know that they matter.

51:10 Everybody there matters. When you when you take that oath and pin that badge on, you matter. That's what I

51:15 want to That's the message I want to put out today is everybody at the sheriff's

51:19 office, everybody at every sheriff's office, but especially Cullman County sheriff's office, you deputies, you matter. You

51:26 matter to me and your families. Thank you. >> Thank you, sir. Thank you, Mr. Whaley.

51:33 Thank you, Mr. Creel. That concludes this portion of the 2026 Tribune Debate Series.

51:39 We would like to thank both of our candidates, Mr. Creel and Mr. Whaley,

51:42 for being here tonight and for giving voters the opportunity to hear directly from each of you.

51:48 Thank you to everyone who attended in person, everyone watching online, and everyone who continues to take part in

51:54 the local election process. An informed public makes for a stronger county and these conversations matter. We also want

52:02 to thank Wallace State Community College for hosting us here at the Bailey Center

52:06 Auditorium and thank Dr. Vicki Carlowe Weeks and the Wallace State team for their hospitality and support. The

52:14 Tribune will continue working to give voters access to candidates, clear information, and meaningful public

52:20 conversation throughout this election cycle. Thank you for being here and have a good evening and don't forget to vote

52:27 on the 19th. >> We have loose. >> Yeah,

52:38 I don't I don't I don't think Wallace will win.