A Logan County sheriff candidate accused a county deputy of taking one of his campaign signs that was cemented into the ground. The accusation came on Monday night’s candidate forum.
During the end of his closing remarks, Robert Hardee accused one of Sheriff Jim Bauman’s daytime deputies of taking the road sign.
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“I hate to say this, but I’m going to close with this. Somebody has stole two of my signs off the side of the road. Folks, these things are cemented into the ground. They were pulled up,” Hardee said, who is currently a detective with the Canton Police Department.
“Yes, you’re not going to like this Jim,” Hardee said as he looked over to Bauman. “One of them was one of your deputies. So, look at your cameras for me, please.”
Bauman quickly responded by saying, “show it to me. Will do.”
On Thursday afternoon, sheriff officials said Hardee contacted their offices and said the alleged sign theft took place on April 29 between the times of 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. They state Hardee publicly said a uniformed deputy stopped approximately 150 yards south of the entrance of Triple Crown Meadows, located north of Seward Road on Pine St. He stated the sheriff’s patrol unit stopped, then left and the sign was gone.
The day after the forum, Bauman responded in a social media post.
“I spoke to the candidate (Hardee) about this issue. I informed the candidate that every vehicle in my fleet is real time GPS tracked and recorded. The candidate has spread this rumor without proof.”
Sheriff officials said after watching the GPS playback, the deputy never stopped his patrol unit before slowing down to turn into the addition for a routine neighborhood patrol.
Undersheriff Craig McCleery contacted Hardee and explained the outcome of their investigation. McCleery extended an invitation to show proof that the deputy didn’t stop or steal a sign. According to a social media post by Bauman’s campaign, Hardee declined to come to the sheriff’s office to see the “undeniable evidence that vindicated” the deputy. Hardee explained he was out of town at the time for a week, but would publicly state the deputy did no wrong.
Guthrie News Page reached out to Hardee via email to his campaign website seeking comment on Thursday morning. So far, there has been no response.
Of course! It’s always without proof. Get shot at? It’s without proof even though you’re standing there fingering the suspect in broad daylight. Nothing ever gets handled professionally in this county even though there are a year’s worth of police reports because “there’s no proof.” Why should this be any different? Logan County requires not just a video of the crime, but fingerprints, a copy of the perpetrator’s driver’s license, and a signed confession. Until you get all that, it’s hell to even get them to entertain the notion of taking a report. There are good things about Jim Bauman, but with everything I’ve experienced in Logan County, I’m convinced we need a new sheriff.