Stark County Sheriff's Removal Hearing Wraps Up - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

Stark County Sheriff's Removal Hearing Wraps Up

After the Stark County commission requested that their sheriff be removed from office, a judge was assigned to hear from all sides.

On day two of Clarence Tuhy's removal hearing, several deputies spoke out in his defense.

The judge also questioned whether there's enough evidence to warrant his removal.

Sheriff Clarence Tuhy will have been in law enforcement for 40 years this November, but the question is, should he continue?

Calls to the Stark County Sheriff's Department continue to go up, but there's a long list of complaints facing the sheriff himself.

Along with several defense witnesses, Sheriff Tuhy took the stand to answer questions about his conduct directly.

(Have you ever talked to them loudly in a manner in which you think they may feel intimidated?) "Not in which they feel intimidated, I think everybody kind of, adrenaline starts going a little bit, you probably raise your voice a little bit yes." says Sheriff Tuhy.

Witnesses have testified about everything from inappropriate sexual innuendos, mishandling of county funds and property to an "if you don't like it, you can leave" attitude.

"That's why I wanted things on documentation as far as suggestion forms, because it's easy to complain about something if you don't have an answer or remedy for it, and I felt I have to include it, if there's a problem let's fix it." says Tuhy.

How to fix this issue however, is a matter of opinion, with the judge questioning whether there's any hard evidence.

Judge William Hodny will now make a recommendation report to the Governor, who will ultimately decide whether to remove Tuhy from office.

Judge Hodny says he hopes to hand in his report to the Governor in less than a month's time.

Tuhy is still the acting sheriff continuing his duties as usual.