June 28th, 2019

To: Alpena County Residents

All Local Media Outlets

From: Terry W. King

Re: Sheriff Steven J. Kieliszewski’s Letter dated June 24th, 2019

On June 24th, 2019, I resigned under threat of termination from my position as Undersheriff
because it was clear to me that Sheriff Kieliszewski intended to terminate me based upon my good-faith
reporting of certain regulatory violations. Since then, on June 25th, 2019, the Sheriff released his letter,
which has been published, outlining his concerns regarding my performance over the past 1 ½ years.

What follows is my response. I must note that I was perplexed by the Sheriff’s statement that
he “owed [me] the benefit of the doubt” because it is clear to me that I’m instead burdened with the
presumption of wrongdoing. This goes against everything I have stood for my entire career working for
the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office.

You should know that as the Undersheriff I was largely responsible for managing the day to day
operations of the Alpena County Sheriff’s Office (“Department”). This included monitoring security
activities at the Combat Readiness Training Center (“CRTC”), interviewing candidates for employment,
making hiring recommendations to the Sheriff, budget operations, grant work, quarterly grant statistics
reporting, assisting in the jail when needed, commissioner sub-committee meetings, full board
meetings, checking in (bailiff) with all three courts. Thus, the activities described in Sheriff Kieliszewski’s
letter fell squarely within my duties as Undersheriff.

Tether Program Letter to Judge Michael G. Mack

The Sheriff objects to my having written a letter to Judge Mack on June 5th, 2018 in which I
shared concerns about the level of monitoring by one local electronic monitoring company. His primary
concern appears to be that I relied upon information from a competitor of that company and in doing so
placed the Department in a position that mandated an apology letter from the Sheriff.

The June 5th, 2018 letter is in my possession and available for anyone who would like to review
it. Some backstory: In October 2016, after carefully researching the available market of providers, we
established a tether program in cooperation with a company called Home Confinement Incorporated
(“HCI”). I held and attended several meetings with District Court Judge Thomas LaCross and other court
employees in order to explain the procedures and potential benefits of this tether program. Its essential
purpose was to allow the release of low-risk inmates from jail where additional space was needed for
more serious offenders and to generate a slight profit for the county in the process. With the Sheriff’s
approval, I also presented our program to the County Finance Committee and then onto the Full Board,
both of whom approved the program.

I eventually heard from various inmates as well as the local HCI representative that another local
tether provider wasn’t actively monitoring their tethered individuals who violated court orders.
Concerned at this revelation from multiple sources, I spoke with Judge Mack about the issue. He asked
that I provide him with any additional relevant information. Thus, I wrote the letter, which accurately
reflects all that I heard.
 It turns out that my letter fell into the competitor company’s hands from an individual at the
Prosecutor’s Office. I recall Sheriff Kieliszewski being upset with that person and also advising me to get
his approval before sending any further correspondence in the future. I agreed and the matter was
settled.

November 2018 Snowstorm

In November 2018, we had a major snowstorm that required the full attention of the Alpena
Central Dispatch, all police agencies, county plow trucks and wrecker services. I personally heard MSP
Post Commander call for a wrecker for a traffic crash he was handling. He then requested Alpena
Central to call for a plow truck. During this time a civilian who worked with the Alpena Prosecutor’s
Office keyed his police radio mic and responded to the Post Commander. Although the content of the
message is not remarkable, I understand that civilian transmissions on a police radio could result in the
County losing its police radio function and/or be subject to a fine. I promptly brought this concern to
the Sheriff’s attention.

After hearing from another officer that the same civilian individual had been making other calls
via the police radio, I then spoke with our 911 Director about my concerns. The Director said he would
look into it and get back with me. That same day, I received a call from the MSP Post Commander who
told me that he was looking into the matter as well, as he received a call from the 911 Director. The
Post Commander said he would address the issue at the next “Chiefs’ Meeting” between police and
prosecution leaders.

It turned out to be the very first item on the agenda with our Post Commander citing specific
code and statutory violations as the result of this person both using the police radio and also driving a
private vehicle with red and blue emergency lights. Sheriff Kieliszewski stated that he would be dealing
with this personally, and the meeting moved on to another topic. When the meeting was over, as we
exited, the Sheriff stopped me, pointed his finger at me and directed me to “leave it alone”. I did what
was ordered of me, but knew these actions were clear violations of state and federal law.

Drunk Driving Allegations

The Sheriff writes that on December 28th, 2018 I told him that someone had stopped by my
house and advised me that a person referred to in the Sheriff’s letter was telling a trooper to arrest me
for drunk driving. I tried without success to see if any troopers had been so informed and then reported
the unusual incident to the Sheriff. The Sheriff concludes, having completed his investigation, that the
allegations were without merit.

The Sheriff accurately describes the incident that I reported to him. The visit was disturbing,
particularly since I don’t drink, let alone drink and drive. At the Sheriff’s request I wrote a report of the
incident. After reading it, the Sheriff told me the matter was over, and I accepted his conclusion.

Ella White School Incident

The Sheriff’s letter focuses on an allegation that, in the midst of the investigation into the
incident at Ella White school, I personally told the husband of a suspect that his wife should not take a
polygraph test.
 I am aware of at least two prior investigations into this rumor: one performed by the Sheriff and
the other by a reporter of True North Radio Network. Both investigations reached the same conclusion:
there is absolutely no proof that I did any such thing. But now,s approximately a year and a half later,
the issue suddenly and mysteriously resurfaces. Let me be clear, at no point have I ever told anyone
under investigation not to participate in a polygraph. In fact, the suspect’s husband has stated on
multiple occasions that no “polygraph” conversation or text message ever took place.

CRTC Security Invoices

The Sheriff claims that from 2014 through 2016, I charged the State for administrative duties
with the CRTC while I was on vacation from the office. The office had a contract to provide security
services to the CRTC base. As part of that contract, we were required to have a sergeant on staff to
supervise the employees providing security services. During those years, the Sergeant was an individual
who was not only employed by the County, but was also enlisted with the Air Force. The Sergeant in
charge is required to have and maintain security clearances, which takes quite some time to obtain.

As Undersheriff, part of my duties was to supervise and monitor the security efforts at the base.
In the years mentioned by the Sheriff, there were some relatively short periods of time (4 to 6 weeks)
where the Sergeant was at the base as an enlisted individual and therefore could not serve as our
supervising Sergeant.

Due to the time required to get a security clearance for a possible new employee and the
financial burden of hiring a senior employee during the Sergeant’s short absence, I assumed his duties
with the full approval of the base leaders. The result was that my time at the base, already significant
due to my role as Undersheriff, further increased. During these times I would frequently visit the base
outside of my regular work hours to touch base with all shifts of our security staff. That meant going in
on some weekends, late at night or very early in the morning. I should note that, as a salaried
employee, I received no extra compensation for filling in during the Sergeant’s absence, whether during
regularly scheduled hours or not.

While I have not had the opportunity to review the timesheets submitted to the state that the
Sheriff references, I know that all the hours I reported are accurate and were reported with the
knowledge and approval of the CRTC leadership staff.

In closing, let me say I do not need the supposed benefit of Sheriff Kieliszewski’s doubt. That is
because my 22 years of honest, loyal and unblemished service to the County of Alpena should remove
all doubt. At no time did I violate any office policies or break any state of federal laws. I worked in the
best interest of the Department and the people of Alpena County. God willing, I look forward to the
privilege of serving as your next Sheriff and continuing my work.

Terry W. King