[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3891]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   TRIBUTE TO FORMER JOHNSON COUNTY, KANSAS, SHERIFF FRED ALLENBRAND

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                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 20, 2002

  Mr. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to former Johnson 
County, Kansas, Sheriff Fred Allenbrand, who died on February 15th, at 
age 68.
  For half of his life--34 years--Fred Allenbrand served as sheriff of 
Kansas' fastest growing county, which now comprises two-thirds of the 
population of the Third Congressional District. Elected in 1966, he 
served until his retirement in 2002, and oversaw the sheriff's office 
during a time span when Johnson County grew from a collection of small 
communities to a major suburban hub of the Kansas City metro area. 
Dismantling the patronage system that previously had been the hallmark 
of the sheriff's office, he professionalized the workforce, improved 
pay and benefits and modernized the force's equipment and facilities.
  Fred Allenbrand is survived by his wife, Ramona, daughters Cindy 
Barnes and Karen Wiggin, and son Kent, as well as by seven 
grandchildren. He will be remembered as a humane, progressive public 
servant, who was a kind, honest man of great integrity. I worked with 
him for twelve years as Johnson County District Attorney. I learned 
much from Fred about our criminal justice system and about people. Fred 
Allenbrand was my friend.
  It is fitting that 2000 people attended his memorial service, 
including hundreds of law enforcement officers. Following the service, 
a funeral procession that was estimated by the Johnson County Sun to be 
three miles long traveled to his internment site. Mr. Speaker, I 
include with this remembrance an obituary of Sheriff Allenbrand that 
appeared in the Kansas City Star.

               [From the Kansas City Star, Feb. 16, 2002]

               Former County Sheriff Fred Allenbrand Dies

                    (By Tony Rizzo and Finn Bullers)

       Fred Allenbrand, who served longer than any other Johnson 
     County sheriff, died Friday at age 68.
       Allenbrand took over a 25-member department in January 1967 
     and retired in January 2001, after building it into a law 
     enforcement agency with more than 400 employees.
       ``His contributions to Johnson County law enforcement are 
     too numerous to mention,'' said his successor, John Foster. 
     ``But if there's one thing he should be remembered for, it's 
     the integrity he maintained during his 34 years in office.'' 
     Growing up on a Johnson County farm, one of 13 children, 
     Allenbrand used to wave from horseback at passing squad cars. 
     He was so enamored of police work that he took a $200 a month 
     pay cut to the department as a deputy in 1958,
       ``I loved it,'' he said of his early career in an interview 
     before his retirement.
       He quickly progressed through the ranks and by 1962 was a 
     lieutenant, but he was demoted after backing the wrong man in 
     the election for sheriff. The experience prompted him to run 
     for sheriff in 1966.
       After winning the election, Allenbrand moved to dismantle 
     the political system that had led to his demotion. He worked 
     for a civil-service system to protect deputies' jobs, and he 
     worked for better pay and benefits for employees.
       ``He totally removed any kind of patronage from the system 
     before a time it was regularly done. I think that was the key 
     to his popularity,'' County Commissioner Annabeth Surbaugh 
     said. ``You couldn't fix the deal in Johnson County. He was 
     honest to the end.''
       Throughout his tenure as sheriff, Allenbrand sought to keep 
     his department abreast of advances in law enforcement while 
     keeping pace with the county's tremendous population growth.
       ``You have to be willing to change,'' Allenbrand said in 
     the pre-retirement interview. ``If you're not willing to 
     change, you'd better not live in Johnson County.''
       Today the department runs a crime laboratory open to every 
     police department in the county and two jails that hold more 
     than 500 prisoners.
       Toward the end of his tenure, Allenbrand took some heat for 
     problems associated with construction of one of those 
     facilities--the county's jail at New Century AirCenter.
       The project, which Allenbrand oversaw, experienced cost 
     overruns, construction delays and trouble with the security 
     system. The jail officially opened in July 2000, three years 
     behind schedule.
       The complex is named after the former sheriff, and more 
     than 230 prisoners are held in the detention center.
       When he retired, Allenbrand said he was also proud of the 
     employment opportunities for women and minorities, and the 
     cooperation among all the county's police agencies that was 
     developed while he was sheriff.
       He was one of the driving forces behind the establishment 
     of a professional police academy in the county.
       Herb Shuey, department historian and a retired deputy, 
     described Allenbrand ``as the most important sheriff in the 
     history of the department.''
       In a book about the Sheriff's Department, Shuey said 
     Allenbrand made himself a first-rate administrator and 
     politician, but at his core he was always a police officer 
     first.
       ''His compassion is well known and his respect for the law 
     is equally known,'' Shuey wrote. ``More importantly for the 
     citizens of Johnson County, his attitudes filter down and 
     through his subordinates.''
       After he was first elected sheriff, Surbaugh said, ``no one 
     ever really gave him any competition. And the reason is, how 
     can you fight honesty, integrity, consistency and fair 
     government? He had a fire in his belly.''

     

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