The new Sheriff in town

The new sheriff in town, Michael Merritt, is only new to his role, but not at all to Comanche County. Born and raised in the small community of Flower Mound, Merritt has always dedicated himself to serving others.

“I started out young. We grew up in a community, Flower Mound community. We took care of our own, we took care of our neighbors.”

Merritt joined the Lawton Fire Department in 1988, after being a volunteer firefighter in Flower Mound. Merritt didn’t originally plan to be a fireman — he was happy working on his farm — but a friend asked him to try out for moral support, and then began Merritt’s lifelong journey of service to Comanche County.

“A friend of mine wanted to try out for the Lawton Fire Department, and I was asked to go with him. I had my farming life, and we were, y’know, hauling hay and cutting wood … I was asked to go with him for moral support and everything. Well, fortunately, I got hired.”

Merritt served with the Lawton Fire Department in various roles until he retired in 2013 and was recruited by then-Sheriff Kenny Stradley to work for the Sheriff’s department.

“He told me ‘You don’t know, you’ve seen a lot in your 25 years of service, but you ain’t seen nothing yet,’” laughed Merritt, nodding along to confirm that he had indeed not seen anything yet.

“I wasn’t really looking at putting in for it” he said. Merritt wasn’t originally planning to run for Sheriff either.

“He (Sheriff Stradley) said that he did not want to retire without having somebody to take over for him.” At first, Merritt said no. After praying about it and talking with his wife, Merritt found that he was dedicated to the work he was doing and wanted to lead the department.

“He asked me to take over in his footsteps and carry on. Said that he needed somebody to take care of the citizens of Comanche County and take care of his personnel here at the Sheriff’s department and make sure they were taken care of very well.”

Merritt’s main goals for the department include modernization of systems, as well as new equipment for sheriff’s deputies to do their jobs as effectively as possible

“My goals for the department is to try to bring the department into the 21st Century, the electronic age,” he said.

The department was the recipient of a grant from the Oklahoma Attorney General of $300 thousand, around half of which has gone to purchasing new internet servers.

The department has also purchased new radios, Tasers, vests, cars, and other equipment. The hope, Merritt says, is to increase the efficacy of the department by ensuring all communication in the department is as efficient as possible.