![Cuyahoga County administrative headquarters [Nick Castele / ideastream]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/250081b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/980x551+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F11%2F07%2FCuyahogaCountyHQ.jpg)
Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish is recommending that council elevate interim Sheriff David G. Schilling to the sheriff’s job officially.
Schilling has 25 years of experience in the sheriff’s department, according to the county, including 15 years as a supervisor. He replaces Sheriff Clifford Pinkney, who resigned in August.
“In a time of turmoil, Interim Sheriff Schilling has done a terrific job of not only stabilizing the Sheriff’s Department and the jail,” Budish said in a news release, “but he has helped to set the entire department on a strong path forward. Morale has improved significantly under his leadership.”
Schilling was the second person named as interim sheriff since Pinkney’s resignation. Lt. Brian Shaw, the first person named to step into the position, could not serve because he didn’t live in Cuyahoga County.
Schilling takes on the job during a time of trouble for the county jail, which has been the subject of lawsuits, criminal investigations and a scathing 2018 U.S. Marshals Service report. The sheriff’s exact role at the jail was left unclear after testimony in June from Pinkney, who told county council that he had little power over decisions at the facility.
This week, county voters approved a charter amendment giving council power over the appointment and firing of the sheriff.
