Amid cuts, Ohio judge warns citizens to arm themselves

JEFFERSON, Ohio (AP) — A judge in the county that’s Ohio’s largest by land area says sheriff’s department budget cuts means citizens should be vigilant and arm themselves.

The warning comes from northeast Ohio’s mostly rural Ashtabula County, where the sheriff’s department has been cut from 112 to 49 deputies.

With deputies assigned to transport prisoners and serve warrants, only one radio car is assigned to patrol the entire county of 720 square miles.

Judge Alfred Mackey of Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court tells Cleveland’s WKYC-TV the cuts mean citizens should arm themselves and watch out for their neighbors.

Sheriff William Johnson has threatened to sue county commissioners to have some of his department’s funding restored.