CLEVELAND — Cuyahoga County Council approved Harold Pretel as the county's new sheriff during Tuesday evening's meeting. Pretel, who was nominated by Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne in May, comes to his new post after most recently serving as a deputy chief with the Cleveland Division of Police.
Joseph Greiner had been serving as the Interim Cuyahoga County Sheriff, the second time he had been tapped for that role.
Accompanied by his family, Pretel was sworn in as Cuyahoga County Sheriff by county law director Richard Manoloff following the vote.
"I want to let the men and women of the sheriff's department know that I'm here to support them, to work with them to build on the hard work they've done as we build the premier law enforcement agency in the state of Ohio and beyond," Pretel said after being sworn in. "I want to assure them that I know what their plight is and I understand what their duty calls for."
Pretel says he plans to build the "premier law enforcement agency" founded on the core values of "procedural justice, integrity, and service."
"The citizens of this county know that they expect and deserve superior law enforcement service and superior professional service," he added. "We're going to give them professional, respectful policing."
Pretel has been a member of the Cleveland Division of Police for nearly three decades, most recently serving as the division's deputy chief of homeland special operations. Pretel is responsible for strategic, administrative, and operational functions of all specialized investigative units and tactical units. In addition, Pretel has also served on multiple local task forces, including the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Northern Ohio Law Enforcement Task Force.
“Deputy Chief Pretel is an exceptional leader with a proven track record of collaboration and success in law enforcement,” said Ronayne when he made the nomination. “Deputy Chief Pretel’s experience in corrections, with the Sheriff’s department and at the Cleveland Division of Police has prepared him to take on this role and I know he has the vision and dedication we need to lead the Sheriff’s department.”
Before joining the Cleveland Division of Police, Pretel served as a corrections officer and later as a deputy sheriff/detective with the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department. He served in the United States Marine Corps and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from Baldwin-Wallace College and a Master of Science in Social Administration from Case Western Reserve University.
Pretel assumes his new duties amid a revolving door of Cuyahoga County sheriffs or interim sheriffs since a 2010 charter amendment changed the sheriff position from an elected one to an appointed one. Out of Ohio's 88 counties, Cuyahoga is the only one whose sheriff is not an elected position.
Here is the list of those who have served as Cuyahoga County Sheriff since 2009:
- Robert Reid: May 2009 through February 2013
- Frank Bova: February 2013 through March 2015
- Clifford Pinkney: March 2015 through August 2019
- David Schilling (interim): August 2019 through January 2021
- Joe Greiner (interim): January 2021 through March 2021
- Christopher Viland: March 2021 through May 2022
- Steven Hammett (interim): May 2022 through February 2023
- Joe Greiner (interim): February 2023-July 2023
"My intention is to stay here as long as i can into the future to make sure we can turn things around," Pretel told 3News' Lydia Esparra.
Pretel is Columbian. His parents immigrated to the United States when he was a small child. He is the first Latino to head the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office. And that affects him the most.
"I know there are a lot of little girls and boys who see a way forward and I want to tell you that was me," Pretel added.
In the meantime, The Northeast Ohio Public Safety Foundation hosted the "Elect Our Sheriff" briefing on Monday that featured several Northeast Ohio sheriffs and community leaders. The goal of the campaign is to reestablish the position of Cuyahoga County Sheriff as an elected office.
"It's worth noting that here in Cuyahoga County, we have had nine sheriffs in 12 years," said Colin Skikon from Laborers Local Union 860. "And for anyone in Cleveland, you realize that's almost as terrible as (the number of) Browns' quarterbacks. The men and women of our department need some kind of continuance in leadership."
