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Benton County Sheriff’s Race Candidate Glenn Latham Addresses Open Carry, Rural Patrol

BENTON COUNTY (KFSM)– Four candidates have already announced they are running for the sheriff’s position in Benton County. Currently Glenn Latham is...

BENTON COUNTY (KFSM)-- Four candidates have already announced they are running for the sheriff's position in Benton County.

Currently Glenn Latham is a senior systems administrator at Walmart and former detective in the sheriff's offices in Benton and Washington counties.

Latham said his past in law enforcement is part of what makes him a solid candidate for Benton County sheriff.

“Law enforcement, in general, means a lot to me,” he said. "It is something I have had a passion for my whole life and have given my whole adult life to.”

Latham said his time working for the Benton County Cyber Crimes Division is one of the experiences that drives his passion for law enforcement.

“These children are getting onto these tablets, and they are getting onto their smart phones, and they are [playing] in a world that is very dangerous,” he said.

Latham also gave his interpretation of Arkansas' open-carry law.

“It is legal. Open carry is legal,” he said. “You can strap a gun on you, and walk down the road.”

If he is elected sheriff, Latham said he also wants to put more patrols out in rural areas.

"One of the largest things we have to focus on is getting the deputies out of the cities and back into the county," he said. "The tax dollars that go for the sheriff's office are meant for the rural patrol. They are not meant for Rogers or Bentonville or anything along those lines."

Latham said he knows the importance of having more patrols in rural areas first-hand.

"I live in an unincorporated area, and we probably have not seen a deputy's car in a few years," he said. "[Cities] have their own tax dollars, and they have their own tax base. They have plenty of officers to protect their needs."

The other candidates in the sheriff's office race include Paul Pillaro, who is a lieutenant at the Lowell Police Department, Tim Filbeck, who is a corporal at the Siloam Springs Police Department, and current Benton County Sheriff Kelley Cradduck. The election will be held in March.

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