Sheriff W. R. Goshert

WARSAW — Kosciusko County Sheriff William “Rocky” Goshert announced today, Tuesday, Nov. 14, his intention to seek the Republican nomination for a full term in office in 2018.

Goshert, who previously served two terms as sheriff from 2007 to 2015, was elevated to the position of interim sheriff after the resignation of former Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine on May 23. He was later selected by a Republican caucus to fill out the remainder of Rovenstine’s term.

Since that time, Goshert says, he has been approached by several local Republicans and members of law enforcement urging him to seek another full term in office.

Goshert is a longtime Kosciusko County resident and a 1975 graduate of Warsaw High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Hanover College in 1979. He began his law enforcement career in 1980 as a trooper for the Indiana State Police. In 2001, he was hired as a deputy at the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department and was eventually promoted to the rank of corporal. Goshert was elected sheriff of Kosciusko County in 2006. He won a second term in 2010. He served as captain of the sheriff’s department during Rovenstine’s most recent term in office.

Goshert stated he was proud of the officers in his department, and he took issue with the accusation that they are not cooperating with other law enforcement agencies. “We cooperate with other law enforcement agencies, and we’ll continue to cooperate, but we won’t capitulate,” he said. “The sheriff is the only elected law enforcement officer in the county, so it’s important that we maintain our independence. We’re the only agency directly accountable to the people.”

He said that he has not received complaints from any town marshals about a lack of cooperation, but that if he did, he would immediately take steps to fix it.

Goshert said the sheriff’s department under his leadership is looking to deal more aggressively with the opioid crisis. Three of his department heads will soon be attending FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration training seminars with the goal of helping road and jail officers identify signs of potential overdoses. Goshert hopes that once the sheriff’s department officers are trained, they can assist the smaller departments that may not have the budget for such training.

In light of the recent church shootings in North Carolina and Texas, Goshert said the sheriff’s department is also developing a program to make sure officers are always available to local churches on Sundays.

Goshert resides in Warsaw with his wife, Joy, who serves as assistant superintendent of the Wawasee Community School Corporation. He has three children: Cody, age 27; Taylor, also 27; and Drake, 31.