Polk County sheriff Grady Judd is in the news often because he is not shy to say how he sees things. Being a sheriff was his childhood dream and he now lives that dream with a passion. Sheriff Judd is usually right in the middle of big news stories when they break.
When his deputies shot a man who killed one of their own, the sheriff was asked why the man was shot 68 times. He replied: “Because we ran out of bullets.” He also applies this no-nonsense attitude when it comes to saving money. He decided inmates would no longer receive free underwear, but will be buying their own. "For those who want underwear, they buy underwear. For those who don't, they can let the breeze blow up one leg and down the other," he said. That decision saved the jail almost $50,000.
Judd saved another $200,000 by putting an end to free lunches for prisoners. His straight forward justification of that decision was: "If you want to have peanut butter and jelly, and have sodas to drink and coffee with your breakfast and real eggs instead of egg patties - stay out of jail." The excitement and adrenalin rush that being a sheriff brings is what drives Grady Judd, and on most mornings that is what wakes him up before the alarm clock goes off.
