Sequoyah County’s heroes — Sheriff Larry Lane and Undersheriff Charles House — also have their heroes.
Randy Freeman is one of them.
The Sheriff’s office website identifies Freeman as administrative deputy and animal control, but that title only hits the high spots.
“He’s our utility guy,” Lane is quick to point out. “He takes reports in the office, he’s our sex offender registrar, he’s the best animal guy in the state.
“He retired from Sallisaw PD, and now he files a lot of criminal cases on animal neglect and abuse, just all kinds of stuff like that. He’s so busy. He lives all the way in Broken Arrow, and he gets called out probably more than us [Lane and House]. He’s always helpful, he will always do anything for us. He’s a big part of our group over there.”
Statistics also speak volumes about Freeman’s importance to the county.
“Just on registers in Sequoyah County — this is not counting municipality stuff — just in the county jurisdiction, there’s 102 sex offenders and 14 violent crime offenders, meaning they have to come in, see their faces, do all their paperwork monthly to keep them up to date in accordance with state statute,” House details.
“He has to go out randomly to do site checks on their houses and visits. He’s got a very busy job,” Lane adds.
Freeman’s interaction with those who register as offenders requires tact blended with empathy.
“If you remember, when Sheriff Lane took over, we had a few shootings early on,” House recalls. “Three of those were sex offenders. So that kinda tells you who Randy’s dealing with.
“But he’s very smooth with his words. He knows how to talk to people after running a homeless shelter for years, being a preacher for years. They’re still human, guys. I know it’s hard to see it that way for many of us, but they’re still somebody’s daddies, uncles, brothers, sisters, mommas, whatever. We still have to treat them with dignity and respect and do what we have to do.”
Lane and House are thankful Freeman is not only comfortable in that role, but also very skilled.
Heroes aren’t always in the public eye. Some perform their heroics behind the scenes. Some are like Randy Freeman.
