Jan. 1—John Halferty wore two sets of armor when he suited up for work every morning. The bulletproof vest was mandatory, but the sheriff of Jasper County also wore an invisible layer of protection throughout much of his 38-year career in law enforcement, and his greatest strength was knowing when to take it off.
As he leaves the sheriff’s office and enters retirement, John hopes his fellow first responders — especially cops — heed his words and learn they don’t always have to wear that kind of armor all the time. They can show that they care. They can have empathy for others and sympathize with their feelings.
“Whatever is going on may not be significant to you, but it’s the worst time of their life,” he said. “And I think sometimes we taught our people, and I was taught this, that you can’t show any emotion or that you can’t show that you care (because) you’re letting your guard down, you’re going to open yourself up.”
Very early in his career working drug cases for the Newton Police Department, he would not give a second thought to anybody he arrested. He rationalized that he was doing a good job, that he was getting someone off the streets and that he was stopping further drug use or distribution in the community.
However, he realized that those people he put in handcuffs probably didn’t tell their classmates in elementary school that they wanted to be a drug dealer when they grew up or wanted to be addicted to a particular substance. He never excused their bad choices, but he never lost sight of them as a person either.
When he had to lock up someone for their bad choices, he wasn’t just getting someone off the streets, he was also taking away a parent from their children, and potentially reinforcing another generational transmission of crime. While he has seen many families break those chains, others have not.
It was important for him to separate his personal life and beliefs from his job, but he recognized his strengths as a leader was his passion for public service and his willingness to have a heart to care about the well-being of not only his staff but the people who might be getting a ticket or a trip to the jail.
Keeping his personal life and beliefs away from his job is something he always tried to do, but his innate dedication to family, faith and service had a way of blending into how he approached his role at the sheriff’s office. He valued compassion and transparency while still taking care of business.
“Even if we make a mistake or have a bad event or one of our employees screws up, we’re going to be accountable for it and we’re going to try to do better and we’re going to move on,” he said. “But we can always care about people. We can be invested in the county and the people here.”
‘HE STILL ENJOYS WHAT HE DOES’
Kendra Halferty has been married to John for almost 37 years. They live in Colfax and within a short driving distance from the Jasper County Fairgrounds, which is good for when the sheriff is “voluntold” by his wife to help out. It is also where she is hosting his retirement party at 3 p.m. Saturday to honor his service.
Some might not know he used to coach football for Colfax-Mingo High School or currently serves as a youth leader at the First Baptist Church. He has also volunteered as a firefighter and advanced EMT for the Mingo Fire Department for almost 25 years. He’s even served as its chief for a time.
His wife can recall a time when running for sheriff was never on John’s mind. But it seemed to be a natural progression in his career. John had served as chief deputy for former Jasper County Sheriff Mike Balmer, who eventually retired in the early 2010s. John has been sheriff ever since.
Kendra said his best qualities as a leader are his integrity and his honesty. He is “pretty black and white” and is a naturally humble person. Instead of him taking the credit, he gives it to his team. He is immensely protective of his staff, too, and he would never ask them something he wouldn’t do himself.
Perhaps selfishly — rightfully so — Kendra is looking forward to her husband’s retirement. It means more time with family, but it is going to be a huge adjustment for everyone. Especially the ol’ sheriff. She thinks he is excited for a break, and she is happy to see him leave on his own terms.
“He always wanted to leave when he still liked the job and not hate it,” she said. “He has seen too many people who hate their job and were miserable and made everybody miserable around them. That’s the hard part because he still enjoys what he does. He’s excited for the most part, but he’s going to miss the people.”
‘HE SHOULD FEEL VERY PROUD’
Lt. Brad Shutts has been working with John throughout his 23 years of service to Jasper County, but they had crossed paths a few times before. When Shutts was a reserve deputy for Poweshiek County, John was still in Newton. Shutts will soon be sworn in as the new sheriff of Jasper County.
To Shutts, there is no one else who has the quality of leadership John has. He lives his whole life that way, Shutts said, and leads by example. He’s an open book. What people see is what they get. When Shutts was in a three-way primary race for county sheriff, John lent his endorsement.
“It meant everything to me to have somebody like that who basically mentored me through my time here at the sheriff’s office and given me so many opportunities, along with former Sheriff Balmer,” he said. “…Having his trust in my leadership and what I envision moving forward is very important to me.”
Shutts knows he has big shoes to fill, but the sheriff-elect feels like he and the staff have been given the tools to fill those shoes as best they can.
“He should feel very proud of what he is leaving here and what he is handing over to all of us here at the sheriff’s office,” Shutts said. “His whole life is centered around his family, his faith and serving the public, and I don’t see that changing. He’s still going to be vital to every avenue of public safety and EMS and fire.”
‘WE DOVE IN WITH BOTH FEET’
Prioritizing EMS service has been an initiative John has pushed hard the past few years, and it has culminated in the advanced life support (ALS) program. The program allows paramedic deputies to respond to emergencies and provide additional and sometimes higher-level support to volunteer responders.
As someone who serves on a volunteer agency, John sees the writing on the wall. Volunteerism is dying, and it’s having detrimental effects on small towns and rural residents. While some volunteer agencies still see support from their communities, finding individuals to donate their time these days is difficult.
Coupled with the barriers that come with getting volunteers trained in higher level care, John sought out some kind of solution to bridge the service gaps and reduce response times. Jasper County did not invent this type of countywide hybrid EMS support service, but it is has received a fair amount of attention.
And it seems to be working. The board of supervisors devoted a hefty chunk of COVID dollars and ARPA funds to the program to get it up and running. John was a strong advocate for the program and for developing it in a way that met the needs of the county. It was “one of the most challenging” projects of his career.
“There was an opportunity so we dove in with both feet,” John said. “…It is absolutely addressing a need in this county despite what a small percentage of naysayers say. The first responders and volunteer services that are out there taking the calls and we’re seeing, they’re thankful for when it’s available.”
‘YOU DO NOT LEAVE THIS CAR’
Jacob Halferty’s earliest memories of his dad were when he was on the task force for the sheriff’s office. He was a cop but he didn’t look like a cop. He had a rugged beard and a junk car for when he worked undercover. He also remembers his dad serving at the Mingo fire station.
There were times John had to bring his son to a call since there would not be someone around to watch him. Jacob didn’t mind too much, and it let him see his dad in action on the job. He’d watch from car for as long as he could. Jacob still distinctly remembers one particular call.
You do not leave this car. That is what John told his son before responding to an accident on Interstate 80. First responders had to block traffic.
“At some point he looks back and I’m still with the car but I’m on the hood looking at it,” Jacob said. “So as a young kid it kind of piqued my interest.”
Jacob has followed in his father’s footsteps and taken up a life of public service. He is currently the fire marshal of the Newton Fire Department, and in the past he has worked numerous ambulance calls for the station and the fire station in Mingo. And he even served as a reserve deputy.
Yup, he worked under his dad. Jacob admits, yes, his dad did give him special treatment. The sheriff held his son to a much higher standard and more would be expected of him. He treated his son like he did coaching football. Jacob still remembers the aching pushups from accidentally calling him “dad” at practice.
The longer Jacob works as a first responder, the more he realizes how much of his dad’s leadership traits and compassion have rubbed off on him. John is always someone who wanted to be active in the field and be the first one out the door. Jacob said he tries to do the same at the Newton fire station.
“The caring was a big aspect, too, and putting your all into these calls,” Jacob said. “You’re truthfully going in there on the person’s worst day of their life.”
‘IT’S OK TO NOT BE OK’
Jacob said his dad genuinely cares about what he does, and he has a strong work ethic. He worked hard for his family and found time for a number of side projects. John and his dad even used to roof houses back in the day, and the extra cash helped fund their family hobbies. John still puts his family first.
When Jacob and his wife and daughter were all sick at home, John was able to come by and do his son’s chores in addition to his own. Putting other people before himself is not uncommon for John. When the derecho devastated Central Iowa, John didn’t get to the damage to his home until the day after.
Of course, that kind of thing can take a toll on someone. Take on enough heavy loads and you’re bound to break. Jacob said at times he is sure his dad did. But over the past few years John has become more cognizant of the mental health of both himself and his fellow first responders. He preaches it any chance he gets.
“Him becoming more vulnerable about his experiences in the past few years to help the first responder community I think has made a huge impact for people,” Jacob said. “…He’s realized in the past few years how to help take care of this. He’s pushed really hard at the sheriff’s office to have mental health screenings.”
John has also been heavily involved with Crisis Canines of the Midlands to pair working dogs with officers to better not only the public on calls but the people responding to them. Jacob even has his own Crisis Canine assigned to him at the fire station, fittingly named Marshall.
“It’s tough when you’ve had alpha males in these positions for so long to be vulnerable, but he knows it’s what he needs to do to let people know it’s OK to not be OK,” Jacob said. “Stuff is going to get to you and you need to get ahead of it and not wait for it to get built up so much.”
‘AT SOME POINT OUR TANK GETS FULL’
John puts it bluntly: “It’s hard for us old time crusty cops and firefighters to admit that things bother us. But the reality is the number of incidents of trauma and critical events that we see are significant. Not only that, it builds up. It’s a culmination or an accumulation of events. At some point our tank gets full.”
Eventually, the tank may even overflow. John said many law enforcement and fire/EMS agencies have done a horrible job of taking care of its people over the past 40 years. They have all the right equipment and most are paid fairly well, but when it comes to mental health and wellness they are expected to suck it up.
Or worse.
“I tell people, ‘No one has a right to tell you or decide when a critical incident overwhelms you or bothers you.’ It could be your first year on and you could have a significant event and it overwhelms you, or you could be on 15 years before it overwhelms you,” John said.
First responders see the worst of the worst at times. Some may rationalize that is what they signed up for. Well, sort of. They signed up to serve and help the public and others, but John said experiencing critical incidents can take a toll on a person. John has recognized his own cumulative affects. He has triggers, too.
Knowing the negative effects that can come with not properly addressing these issues, John has pushed for mandatory annual mental health and wellness check-ins with a certified trained therapist with experience with members of the military and law enforcement, and it is at no cost to the individual.
As part of that, if an individual needs additional resources the sheriff’s office has an employee assistance program through the county’s human resources director. The sheriff’s office also holds critical incident debriefings. The addition of Crisis Canines, John added, has been an incredible resource as well.
“How can we expect our people to take care of the public and all of this stuff that’s going on if we don’t try to take care of them too?” John said.
‘YOU NEED TO HAVE A RESCUE TEAM’
On his last day, John prepared a going away letter to be sent out to his team. In that he shares how thankful he is for them and the sacrifices they make. He lets them know he cares about them and he cares about the county. He lets them know he is not perfect, but he hoped he has always been transparent.
“Integrity is incredibly important to me,” John said. “When my integrity gets questioned, I will do what I can to justify what I’m doing. But if I make a mistake I’ll let you know too. I want them to know that I hope I’ve been transparent and I hope I’ve been able to be a mentor to people.”
Whether they were a team member at the sheriff’s office or someone he met in the public, John hopes he made a positive impact on them and presented a strong work ethic. Family and faith have been strong motivators for John, and they have also been his strongest support system. He calls them his rescue team.
“Whatever you have for family, whatever you have for faith, I think you need both of those to continue in this profession,” he said. “…That’s kind of what my letter says. It says you need to take care of yourselves, take care of each other but you need to have a rescue team, whether it’s spouse or family or friends.”
There he goes again — taking off that armor and showing people that he cares. As he exits the sheriff’s office, John is optimistic and hopes other members in law enforcement can lead by his example and learn from his experiences. It was a long journey to get to where he is now.
“I never had it all figured out. I don’t want people to think I was doing things perfectly,” John said. “It’s always a work in progress and I hope that first responders and law enforcement officers realize that, too, so they can continue to better themselves and serve our people here.”