If Central Florida were a cat litter box, Polk County would take up most of the prime real estate right in the middle. Why at cat litter box? Well, it’s full of sand and often smells bad.
If you were to drive across the county your first impression would likely be that it is full of angry Republicans, based on the number of signs and flags supporting NASCAR driver Brandon Brown and expressing excitement for the 2024 election cycle. In reality, only about 35% of registered voters in the county are registered Republicans, so I guess our Republicans are just an exceptionally outspoken bunch.
Your second impression would likely be that there is a lot of meth consumed in the county. I haven’t been able to verify this, but many of the scenes you see along the back roads seem to support this theory. One of my personal favorites is a compound we pass on our way to Orlando that features an old pole barn with large letters painted on the doors – “DON’T OPEN DEAD INSIDE.” Seems like the perfect cover for a meth lab - no need to look in here.
But Polk County does have its shining star – and that is our sheriff, Grady Judd. You may not immediately recognize the name, but if you watch the evening news it's very likely that you have seen our Sheriff Grady. He is notorious for his “old school” style of heavy-handed justice, and his press conferences. In his county, there are no “alleged perpetrators,” only “Baaaad men.” In one of his most infamous quotes, a reporter asked why the sheriff’s deputies shot an alleged bad guy 68 times he flatly responded, “That’s all the bullets we had.”
“He’s a documented, pedigreed, thug. He was BAAAAAAAAAD man. Now he’s a DEEEAAAAD man.”
When looters threatened to come to the area in 2020 Grady had a strong message for them. “I would tell them if you value your life, they probably shouldn’t do that in Polk County because the people of Polk County like guns, they have guns, I encourage them to own guns, and they’re going to be in their homes tonight with their guns loaded, and if you try to break into their homes to steal, to set fires, I highly recommend they blow you [looters] back out of the house with their guns.” There was no looting in Polk County.
You might think such an outspoken and heavy-handed approach to law enforcement would put the sheriff at odds with the community, but the locals here (at least the law-abiding ones) love their sheriff. I think this is, at least in part, due to efforts the department puts into public relations. The office sponsors high-profile fundraisers throughout the year, the proceeds of which go into a fund to support local victims of crime.
This past weekend was the annual Jeepin’ with Sheriff Judd event – a three-day, Jeep only, gathering that sells out every year in minutes, with over 2200 registrations! For the holidays the Sheriff’s Office sold limited edition Sheriff Grady Judd bobblehead dolls for $20. They sold out in hours.
If you have Facebook, I would highly recommend you follow the Polk County Sheriff’s Office so you can get a humorous look at the shenanigans that go on around here every day. Several times each week the department's social media team will release stories relating to the most recent adventures along with cartoons and videos. If you like easter eggs, Sheriff Judd makes a cameo in every post, in one form or another. (In the example above, the bad guy was named Billy and apprehended in a local bar – how many Billy Joel references can you spot?)
“EMS arrives, they take him to the hospital. He undergoes emergency surgery, but quite frankly, there’s no way to save him, because he’s full of holes.” – press conference following the shooting of a baaaaad man.
And it turns out, it’s not just the locals that love their sheriff. Sheriff Grady Judd recently received the national Sheriff of the Year award at the Major County Sheriffs of America conference in Washington, DC. So if you are a baaaaad man, or baaaaad girl, I suggest you go do your business in somebody else’s litterbox. Sheriff Grady Judd is watching!
For a sample of Grady’s quote, you can check out this short video – some of the best of 2020. “Come on, man! Did you hear what I said?”
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