The story about Isabella County Sheriff Michael Main leaving his gun in a middle school was one of our most shared items of the week.
Reactions from our readers varied, though there was a strong sense of forgiveness and appreciation for the sheriff’s candid apology and admission to the error.
READ MORE: Sheriff apologizes for leaving gun in middle school locker.
REACTIONS
Many readers were forgiving of the sheriff, but some felt he should be punished. A small minority expressed that he should leave the job. No one took the mistake lightly. Unique to his position, though, is that he is the elected sheriff and typically the one who would sign off or approve a punishment for a deputy or subordinate.
Here is some of what you said:
• Dunn Jeremy: “We are all missing the point here. Yay to the student for doing the right thing. That youth deserves kudos.”
• Christine Maxson LaBelle: “Mike Main is a great man, outstanding sheriff, and supportive law enforcement for over 20 years. We are lucky to have someone like him. He made a mistake. He’s human. I hope people can take the higher ground and show forgiveness and compassion. Now let’s all move on and let him do his job protecting our community.”
• Jacob Davis: “Can we just take a moment to think about what would happen if literally anybody who legally owned a gun had misplaced it in public? “
• Wendy Woo: “He made a mistake, be owned up and took full responsibility of the mistake, and he’s very distraught over it. OK, sure he’ll be reprimanded in some way... However, he doesn’t deserve to lose his job for it.”
• Tina Craven Bradbury: “Do you think Sheriff Main would go lightly on someone else who made a mistake? Everyone makes mistakes, but we also have to pay the consequences. I’m glad he apologized, but this event could have taken a detrimental turn had that weapon got in the wrong hands.”
• Dan Fifl: “If this was the janitor would you all still feel the same way? What if this was in the elementary school? A regular deputy would of been fired by Mike. Yes, he is a good guy but there needs to be action taken.”
• Chelsea Halladay: “I’ll preempt this by saying I think he’s been a good sheriff, but let’s walk through the day: he’s at the school in plain clothes with the weapon. He switches into his uniform. Did he have the service weapon unsecured in the bag at the school while in plain clothes? He surely remembered to transfer keys, wallet, etc. but forgot the most important thing. Also, I sometimes triple check when I leave dressing rooms at stores, my house, etc because I don’t want to lose anything. He was careless not to check. I’m sure the agony and embarrassment he feels outweighs any punishment available though.”
• Greg Cook: “At least he manned up to his mistake. A lot more than probably most criticizers would do.”
ABOUT THE SHERIFF
Isabella County Sheriff Michael Main was elected to office in 2016, months after being appointed to the position after former Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski resigned.
A married father of four sons, Main grew up on a family farm in the county, which surrounds Mt. Pleasant.
Trained as a firefighter and emergency medical technician, he moved on to police training.
“Some of my professional passions involve the schools and school safety,” he writes on his department’s online biography.
He was essentially elected in the summer of 2016, ahead of the November election, as he did not have face opposition. In August of 2016, he won the Republican primary, receiving strong support from the community, winning by a 3,203-to-855 margin, or with 79 percent of the vote.
Read more reactions on The Morning Sun Facebook page.
