Grady Curtis Judd Jr

The Sheriff Who Tells It Like It Is: Grady Judd and Polk County

For more than two decades, law enforcement in Polk County, Florida, has had one face. Since January 2005, the sheriff's office there has been run by Grady Judd — a man who started out answering phones as a teenager and went on to become the longest-serving sheriff in the county's history and one of the most recognizable names in American policing.

Supporters admire his bluntness and toughness; critics fault him for the very same traits. This is the story of how his career took shape and why he remains a lightning rod.

From Dispatcher to Sheriff

Judd is a local through and through, born in Lakeland in March 1954. In 1972, fresh out of high school, he made two big moves at once: he married Marisa Ogburn and took a job as a dispatcher with the sheriff's office. He was the youngest person on staff — so young that, under the rules, his father had to buy his ammunition for him because he wasn't yet 21.

He rose fast. By 27 he was a captain overseeing 44 people, every one of them older than their boss. Along the way he earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Rollins College and graduated from the FBI National Academy. He later taught as an adjunct at the University of South Florida and Florida Southern College.

Judd and his wife have two sons and a large extended family that includes 13 grandchildren.

Six Wins in a Row

Judd entered electoral politics in 2004, when his predecessor, Lawrence Crow — who had led the office for 17 years — chose not to run again. His very first campaign ended in a comfortable victory: roughly 64% of the vote against two challengers, a former FBI agent and a rank-and-file deputy.

After that, elections became close to a formality. In 2008, 2012, and 2016 he faced only write-in opposition and took about 95–96% of the vote each time. In 2020 no one ran against him at all, making him the first sheriff in Polk's 160-year history elected to a fifth term.

In 2024 he drew a real opponent for the first time in years, yet still captured nearly 84% of the vote. Six consecutive terms is a record no one in Polk County had reached before him.

Sharp Words and Mass Stings

Judd's fame comes less from crime statistics than from the way he talks. He doesn't soften his language, and he's comfortable in front of the cameras. The best-known example dates to 2006: after a suspect killed a deputy and his K-9 partner, officers fired 68 rounds at the shooter. Asked by a reporter about the number of shots, Judd replied that they only stopped because they ran out of bullets.

His other trademark is large undercover operations, whose results he announces personally at press conferences:

2021 — a six-month investigation into drug sales on three LGBTQ dating apps: 52 arrests.
February 2024 — an eight-day human trafficking operation: 228 arrests.
October 2024 — a second, five-day operation: 157 arrests.
May 2026 — a sting provocatively named "Polk Around & Find Out": 266 arrests, mostly tied to prostitution and human trafficking; 19 people faced felony charges, including traveling to meet a minor. Those arrested included a man who had pleaded guilty to breaching the U.S. Capitol and a self-styled "MAGA influencer," whose photo with Donald Trump the sheriff put on prominent display for reporters.

Judd has also teamed up repeatedly with Chris Hansen, host of To Catch a Predator, on stings targeting people who seek out children.

Influence Beyond the County Line

On paper, the Polk County sheriff's post is nonpartisan, but Judd makes no secret of where he stands: he regularly endorses Republican candidates and once publicly called Governor Ron DeSantis the best governor in the country. In 2024 he ran as a Republican himself.

His reach has long extended past one county. Judd has led the Florida Sheriffs Association (2013–2014) and the Major County Sheriffs of America (2018–2019). He sits on the public safety commission created after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. In 2020, President Trump appointed him to a three-year term on a federal juvenile justice council, and in 2025 Judd became chairman of Florida's newly formed State Immigration Enforcement Council.

A Dark Mark on the Record

The most serious criticism of Judd's office concerns not excessive force but failure to act. In 2024, allegations surfaced that detectives had brushed off reports of child sexual abuse. According to those reports, instead of investigating, they accused victims of lying — and some juveniles were even charged with false reporting while their alleged abusers stayed free.

As new evidence emerged, some of the accused were eventually convicted, and the false-reporting sentences were overturned. In October 2024, one detective was ordered to retrain in interview and interrogation techniques. Then, in October 2025, a federal civil rights lawsuit was filed against Judd and two of his detectives, alleging that a young victim was pressured to recant and apologize to her abuser, then returned to his care. That man was later convicted. The Sheriff's Office has dismissed the suit as frivolous, saying its deputies made reasoned decisions based on the information and evidence they had at the time.

The Bottom Line

Grady Judd's story spans more than half a century in a single agency — from a teenage dispatcher who couldn't buy his own bullets to a record-setting sheriff with federal appointments. Voters keep handing him landslide wins, and his headline-grabbing stings keep him in the news. But allegations that his office mishandled child abuse cases — claims the office disputes — have raised questions about that tough-on-crime image that are still working their way through the courts.