Why Sheriff

As the Sheriff of Lake County many have asked if I could tell a little bit about myself, my background and experience, so people know who this person is representing them as Sheriff.

My name is Frank Leonbruno. My wife Heidi and I have been married for 38 years and we have raised two daughters and two sons here in Lake County where we were both born and raised. Both of my sons and my son-in-law are also police officers right here in our Lake County communities. We are the proud grandparents of 6 granddaughters and 2 grandsons. 

I have been a proud member of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office for over 34 years.  Since September 2019 I had the honor to serve as Sheriff of Lake County.  Together with an outstanding group of people who work alongside me, we are working to make Lake County a safe and secure place to live, raise your family, and grow a business.  Here are just a few of advancements we have made since becoming Sheriff:

  · Implemented New Policy on Critical Incident Response for Employees 

· Created Pandemic Influenza Continuity of Operations COOP Plan in Response to the COVID-19 

· Ordered Ballistic Shields for the Supervisors, Courts, and SWAT 

· Created a 12 hour shifts to better manage the staffing needs of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office 

· Created 12 Hour shifts for the Jail Trac Clerks 

· Instituted Body Cameras to be worn by deputies to better protect them in their duties

· Created a Fitness Center Training Facility for staff

· Worked with Auburn Career Center to create a Telecommunicator Program 

· Purchased, programmed and Implemented Lake County Sheriff’s Mobile App 

· Mental Health Policy for LCSO employees and response training to recognize problematic issues in the work force and how best to respond 

· Countywide Field Force Training completed with 260 attendees from area law enforcement 

· Re-developed mission statement and values … trained supervisors accordingly … posted Mission Statement throughout the Sheriff’s Office

· Created a new Community Service 

· Added Canine Program 

· Had a video of all of the aspects of the Sheriff’s Office operations done professionally to show to Grand Jurys, Schools, and for public information purposes to educate on what the Sheriff’s Office does

· GPS Furlough Program for the Courts approved for medical furloughs, etc

· Finalized new contracts for Concord, Painesville, and Perry Townships. Added deputies on patrol paid by the townships through a Mini COPS grant 

· Created Sheriff’s Office Chaplaincy Program

· Created first ever Lake County Sheriff’s Explorers Program 

· for the Spring of 2022

· Revised the Sheriff’s Office Range to become a new State of the Art Training facility that can be used all Lake County Law Enforcement free of charge

· Created mentoring programs for the jail, road and central communications

· Began a new Sheriff’s Office Mounted Unit program 

Throughout my career I have continually sought to increase the professionalism of the Sheriff’s Office. Starting as a Corrections Officer in 1989 I was promoted to Sergeant, followed by Captain and Jail Administrator – a position held for 17 years. As the Jail Administrator I worked with over 100 Correction Officers and jail staff, supervising nearly 400 inmates. We accomplished many things together as a staff, and became the first jail in Ohio ever to be certified as being compliant with of the Ohio Minimum Jail Standards. 

During that time I also served as the SWAT Team Hostage Negotiator and instructed in the Corrections and Police academies. In 2011 Sheriff Dunlap promoted me to Chief Deputy, second in command of the Sheriff’s Office. As Chief Deputy I was responsible for all operations, including Road Patrol, Court Security, Jail, Communications/Dispatch, Administrative Support Services, SWAT Team, Marine Patrol and CCW/SORN divisions. These duties required the efficient management of a $17 million dollar budget, 250 employees, media relations, social media platforms, establishing department policy, contract negotiations, and advanced training. My education includes a Master’s Degree in the Administration of Justice and Security from the University of Phoenix, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Philosophy from Borromeo College of Ohio. I am proud of the fact that in 2009 I graduated from the FBI National Academy, a program that less than 2% of police officers have the opportunity to attend in their career. My other certifications include: graduate of the Certified Law Enforcement Executives program (CLEE), graduate of the Police Executive Leadership College (PELC), graduate of the National Institute of Corrections, and one of the first Certified Jail Managers in the United States through the American Jail Association. For 27years I  had the opportunity to teach at Lakeland Community College in its Criminal Justice degree program in the areas of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Crisis Intervention.

Yet my proudest moments have come along side my wife Heidi as we have raised two sons, two daughters, and six fantastic grandchildren (and growing). Both of my sons and my son-in-law serve as police officers right here in Lake County. We have all been members of St. Cyprian’s Parish in Perry for over 25 years and believe that our faith in God is a critical part of our personal and family development, in addition to the service to our community.  While I am not perfect, my wife Heidi will tell you that I am a man of faith, believe in the importance of family, and an extremely hard worker who believes in the equality of law and the critical role that the Sheriff’s Office has in doing the right thing for the people of Lake County. As Sheriff I will continue to work with area police and fire chiefs to insure that we are using our best resources to defend the safety and security of our community. I promise to work with our elected officials at every level to ensure that we are a collaborative partner in making this county a phenomenal place to live.

I feel fortunate to have a tremendously skilled and experienced management team and outstanding individuals throughout our Sheriff’s Office. Robert Izzo serves as our Chief Deputy, Capt. Daniel Bachnicki manages Central Communications, Capt. Cynthia Brooks and Capt. Scott Simpson manage the jail facility, Lori Gladding oversees our Administrative Support Services, Lt. Larry Harpster runs our Detective Bureau, Capt. Pat Paterson directs Road Patrol operations, Lt. Bryan Bowen directs Court Services, and Kevin Fogle handles our IT operations.  They are tremendously skilled and I am honored to serve with them. I look forward to everyday here at the Sheriff’s Office moving us forward to meet the challenges of tomorrow by doing great things today.  

I consider it an honor to serve the Lake County community and cannot think of a better place to call home.  Respectfully I ask for your continued support as Sheriff of Lake County. If you have any questions I am available at any time to answer them. I can be reached at (440)343-2320 or email me at fleonbruno@gmail.com   Or, you can reach me at work at fleonbruno@lakecountyohio.gov or on my direct extension (440)350-5501.

                                                                                   Sheriff Frank Leonbruno