OTTER TAIL COUNTY — Otter Tail County Sheriff Barry Fitzgibbons has announced he is running for reelection.
“I have spent my entire 22-year law enforcement career serving with the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office,” he said in a news release. “Humbly serving as your sheriff for the last three years has afforded me the training and experience to continue to lead this great organization.”
In his first term, he said, “In addition to several major critical incidents, I have had to navigate through several unexpected challenges, which include civil unrest due to the George Floyd incident, Line 3 pipeline protests and the challenges of a pandemic.”
Through these challenges, he added, he was able to ensure that the department had appropriate staffing, equipment and training.
“While all of this was going on, the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office was able to handle any call that came in,” he said. “The staff of the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office really rose to the occasion to tackle anything that was thrown at them. I am incredibly proud and honored to work with all the staff.”
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Prior to being elected sheriff, Fitzgibbons held the positions of patrol deputy, patrol sergeant, operations lieutenant, administrative lieutenant and chief deputy. In addition, he served 13 years as a member of the Otter Tail County Public Safety Dive Team, and 15 years as a member of the Otter Tail County SWAT team, where he served as commander at the time that he was elected sheriff.
“Through my experience with the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office, I have been able to build relationships with many different stakeholders, including community, local, state and federal partners,” Fitzgibbons said. “I have worked and will continue to work with our legislators to ensure that they are fighting for the needs of Otter Tail County.”
He believes that leadership is a key asset in the role of sheriff, and said he takes that responsibility seriously.
“I have been fortunate to be able to attend many leadership trainings” he said, including the 2022 Institute for Credible Leadership (by the Minnesota Sheriffs Association), 2021 Professional Development Academy (by the National Association of Counties), The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Management Certificate, the Otter Tail County Leadership Cohort, and the Emergency Management Certificate, among others.
“In 2018, I was one of 223 law enforcement officers to graduate from the FBI National Academy Program at Quantico, Virginia,” he added. “Internationally known for its academic excellence, I spent 10 weeks at the National Academy Program, learning advanced communication, leadership and fitness training, along with other select officers with proven records as professionals within their agencies.”
Going forward, he said, “I will continue to build and support the excellent people who serve you in the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office and work together with them to use our personnel, advanced training and technology to increase the services of our office to improve public safety.”
Filing for county and state elected offices opened May 17 and ends May 31 this year. The primary election is Aug. 9, and the general election is Nov. 8.
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