Sheriff Mike Nielsen is now defending his decision to hire Taylor Nielsen, his daughter.
LEBANON, Ind. (WTHR) - It has been a difficult few weeks in Boone County, especially for law enforcement. The death of Deputy Jacob Pickett also happened to come right in the middle of a sheriff's race.
And for a while it seemed there as a political truce, that is definitely not the case anymore.
Sheriff Mike Nielsen is now defending his decision to hire Taylor Nielsen, his daughter.
"I have not done anything wrong here and I stand behind my decision not only personally, but I stand behind my decision as the sheriff," said Sheriff Nielsen.
The staffing decision is not sitting well with some in the county, but Nielsen feels it is politically motivated.
"Four or five weeks out from an election and all of a sudden things are exploding now, so I have to question why all this is happening," said Sheriff Nielsen.
The top critic of the hire is Nielsen's primary opponent Mike Greene.
"This is not a political thing this is a law enforcement thing," said Greene. "The right thing to do as the sheriff is to follow the law. How can you expect other people to follow the law if you're not going to follow the law?"
The difference appears to be in interpretation.
Indiana's nepotism law says a person cannot be hired by a relative who is an appointing authority.
"It's black and white. It's simple," said Greene.
The sheriff says he's not directly responsible for hires, the merit board is.
"I went to the county attorney, I went to my personal attorney and I researched it on my own, and the merit board, being responsible being for the hiring and firing of a merit deputy, that we would be okay and would not be violating any state statute," said Sheriff Nielsen.
The sheriff says there are currently two other sets of relatives employed in the sheriff's department.
We reached out to local and state authorities, no one has confirmed any investigations into the hire.
The primary election in Boone County is May 8.
