NEW PHILADELPHIA – Former Sheriff Harold McKimmy is remembered as a giant of law enforcement and had a major impact on the Tuskawas County Sheriff’s Office and how it was viewed by the public.
A 93-year-old man from New Philadelphia died Sunday.
Former Sheriff Walt Wilson, who succeeded McKimmy as president in 2001, said:
“He always had a vision. He was patient and kept pushing it forward,” said current Sheriff Orvis Campbell.
more:Walt Wilson retires as sheriff
Harold McKimmy Career in Law Enforcement
A native of Toronto, Ohio and a U.S. Army veteran, McKimmy began his law enforcement career in 1953 as a member of the Ohio Highway Patrol in Kent.
In 1962, he became a plainclothes agent at Warren’s Patrol District Headquarters. In 1967, he was transferred to the uniform department and named New Philadelphia post his commander, a position he spent the last 15 years of his career. After retiring in 1982, he joined the Ohio Liquor Control Department as an investigator in the Licensing Division.
He was elected Tuskalawa County Sheriff in 1984 and served for 16 years. During that time, he was instrumental in moving his office in 1992 from an old substandard prison in downtown Philadelphia to the modern Judicial Center on Riser Avenue.
McKimmy was involved in the investigation that led to the arrest of Thomas Lee Dillon, who murdered five outdoorsmen in southeastern Ohio from 1989 to 1992. He was also involved in the investigation of Ruth Lauder, who was murdered in Port Washington in 1994. Loader was the first victim. In a multi-state murder by two Newcomerstown men with a total of four deaths.
Campbell considers McKimmy a second father. McKimmy hired him as a lieutenant in 1993.
“He was definitely the most important person in my adult career,” Campbell said. It’s a job.Take these kids and give them guns and badges.You expect them to do the right thing.Like most new people..and I ruin my share He was always quick to correct me, but he spent a lot of time with me.
“He would always tell me what he didn’t like about something I was dealing with, but he would spend a lot of time talking about how he could have done better. He really wanted me to do better.” I think he was supporting me in my career.
McKimmy emphasized his deputy training, something that both Campbell and Wilson experienced.
“He always seemed ahead of the game,” Campbell recalls. “For example, in the ’90s, he told me that there was very intensive, very good, and thorough blood-splash interpreter training in Minnesota.
Campbell was able to enter the class.
“What’s amazing is that the murder happened 90 days after that. The key evidence was the interpretation of the blood splatter. I did it,” he said. “He always seemed so ahead of his time. At the time, I didn’t even know what the blood splatter interpretation was. He really was a pioneer.”
humorous sheriff
Wilson was a Criminal Lieutenant under McKimmy. He sent Wilson to several different murder schools with top-notch instructors. He even took classes with me.
“At one of the trainings we did, they gave you a test and assessed what your priorities were,” Wilson said. Our priority was to be honest, and I never forgot that.”
They both remarked on McKimmy’s sense of humor.
“Some people were intimidated by him, but he was playing practical jokes. He sometimes played elaborate practical jokes in the office,” Campbell said.
Wilson said, “The sheriff had a dry sense of humor, but once you got to know him, he was actually very funny in a very appropriate way.
Both men hold McKimmy in high regard.
“I loved working for him,” Campbell said. “In fact, if I had to pick the most satisfying time of my career, it was working for him. You didn’t want to disappoint him. Like you let him down.” He was such a leadership influence on you.
Wilson said: As a leader. It has certainly helped my career. He will be missed. My heart goes out to my family.
McKimmy was a member of the Fraternity of Police Tuscola Lodge No. 4.
“Harold McKimmy was a dedicated law enforcement officer who for decades served as the Ohio Highway Patrol and Tuscalawas County Sheriff,” said Lodge President Robert W. Everett. Many of us have fond memories of him that will last a lifetime. He’s certainly an icon for law enforcement and will be really missed. “
Call hours are Thursdays from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at the Lynn Hart Guybe Funeral Home & Crematorium in New Philadelphia. Her wife Gloria died at the peak of her COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, so a joint memorial service for Harold and Gloria for her McKimmy will be held Friday at 11 a.m. I will call you one hour before. .