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Underrated Possibilities

By Rev. Donald L. Perryman, Ph.D.
The Truth Contributor

Whatever we believe about ourselves and our ability comes true for us. 
               
-  Susan L. Taylor

 

 

Rev. Donald L. Perryman, D.Min.

Former Deputy Maurice Morris is running an effective, albeit under-the-radar campaign in the race for Lucas County Sheriff. The 13-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department deserves a closer look, though, as the most competitive local primary battle of 2020 unfolds.

I caught up with Morris, a Public Safety Officer for the Toledo Public Library, to discuss his determined battle to break through a crowded field of prominent candidates.

Perryman: Please tell me about your experience.

Morris:  I started off in corrections in 1994 and worked my way up where I did a lot of volunteer work in the community.  I was a court-appointed special advocate before I started the sheriff’s office, but as a part of the sheriff’s office I worked with a lot of inner city schools, Cherry Elementary, Lincoln Academy for Boys, before they closed and also Stewart Elementary when it was co-ed, so I did a lot of volunteer work with the inner-city youth.  With the Sheriff’s Department I did fugitive extradition, was a part of the fire team, and also the honor guard. 

Perryman: Why are you running for sheriff and what is your plan?

Morris:  I want to make a difference in the sheriff’s office and I want to make a difference in Lucas County.  How do I do that?  The first thing I need to do within the jail is to address the morale issue.  The second thing I need to address is leveling the playing field, giving everybody equal opportunity for advancement in the sheriff’s office.  There are officers that wear the uniform and the badge, they come to the table with a lot of experience, knowledge and education and some of them are right in the jail and we need to pick those people and put them in key positions to help move this county forward. 

My second goal is to inspire people who may have given up hope on themselves because I was battered and bruised, but never broken because of my departure from the sheriff’s office.  So, this campaign is about inspiring those not to give up on themselves, but also to make a difference.  

Perryman: How you would get the jail’s publicized budget problems under control?

Morris:  The first thing I would do is go line-by-line to find out where the money is going and how the money is being spent, take a concrete look at it to see what can be reduced, and what can be cut back.  I know one thing, one of the biggest issues is the overtime.  Why do we have so much overtime?  Is it that we don’t have enough personnel because staff are retiring and we’re not replacing them?  So, the first thing we have to look at line-by-line is how the money is being spent and why we have so much overtime. 

Perryman: The jail also appears to have a problem with reoccurring lawsuits.

Morris:  I think a lot goes back to the culture in the sheriff’s office and that culture has to change.  And, there’s a certain way that we have to treat each individual officer and also the inmates because when they come in as an arrestee they are still human, they still have to be treated in a certain way.  They cannot be manhandled, they cannot be abused and taken advantage of.  The same thing with the officers within the jail, we have to treat them with decency and respect, so we have to find out why this culture is in the sheriff’s office and my goal is to change that culture, that culture has to leave. 

Perryman: What are your thoughts on building a new jail?

Morris:  Our jail is overcrowded; it’s outdated and this issue needs to be addressed and addressed right away.  The citizens of Lucas County have already spoken, they want the jail to remain downtown, so that means I need to get with the County Commissioners and have a real discussion about what’s the hold up, what’s keeping this project from moving forward, how can we initiate this, get it in process and find a place to build the new jail?  Because, we need to have enough space for the inmates and we have to have enough space for the officers to work safely within the jail.

Perryman: Why are you the best person for the job of Sheriff?

Morris:  I worked in the jail for a number of years, I saw some things that were going on, I was involved in some things that were going on that I believed was unfair and unjust.  So, I’ve been on both sides of the sheriff’s department and how things are not run properly and the morale was low and nobody wanted to address those issues.  I’ve said this for a while, we may work in the jail, but we’re not in jail and that’s how the administrated made us feel, that we were in jail with those that were in jail.  No voice, we couldn’t come to the table to talk about some of the issues that plague corrections and how we can effectively and efficiently do our jobs.  My goal is to remove that, boost morale, give the officers on the road, in the court systems, in the jail, what they need to make their jobs easier and safer.

Perryman: You talked earlier about what you described as your “painful departure” from the sheriff’s department. Please elaborate.

Morris:  At the time I was a minister at St. James and also a police officer and head of security there. There was a 21-year-old man having an improper relationship with a minor young lady in the church that I mentored.  We knew of the situation because the mom told us about it, I passed on the information to the sheriff’s department and we went out to arrest him at a church and in doing the arrest I was assaulted.  Somehow the story changed from me being assaulted to me assaulting him and that charge stuck.  And I went to court and subsequently I was found guilty of something that I never did, it never happened.  To back up my story, I took an independent polygraph test and I passed, so my painful departure was having to leave a career that I have two undergraduate degrees in, a career that I loved and I was following in the footsteps of two of my uncles who were former law enforcement officers.

Perryman: Are you a Toledo native?

Morris:  I am originally from Charleston, South Carolina and began my career in law enforcement as a police cadet in Charleston County Police.  I aspired to be like my two uncles who served with the City Police and the other with Charleston County Police.

Perryman: Did you bring your love for Charleston’s great cuisine with you to Toledo?

Morris:  Yes, I did! 

Perryman: What do you like?

Morris:  Okra gumbo, which I have my grandmother’s recipe.  Of course, fish and grits, low country slow-cooked collard greens, southern buttermilk fried chicken, the creamy macaroni and cheese, the crab boil we did on a regular basis.  As a little boy, well not too little, I would go out and catch my own crabs and I would sell them on the corner with everybody else, that’s how I made my extra money.  So, seafood was huge in my home and my grandmother was an excellent cook.  So, yes, I did bring that, her pound cake recipe and then also the sweet potato pie recipe. 

Perryman: Good luck with your candidacy.

Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, D.Min, at drdlperryman@centerofhopebaptist.org 
  

Copyright © 2019 by [The Sojourner's Truth]. All rights reserved.
Revised: 02/20/20 08:54:39 -0500.

 

 


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