Tea native joins sheriff’s office

Garrett Welsh grew up in a law enforcement household and recently joined the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

Welsh, who grew up in Tea and graduated from Tea Area High School in 2014 and now lives in Sioux Falls, noted that his father was a state trooper and a captain for the area. He saw the benefits that law enforcement has as a career and community.

“You see that involvement of that long-term effects and that stuff. Not just writing people tickets and stopping people, but it’s really having some good community involvement just keeping everybody safe,” he said.

Welsh joined the National Guard when he was an 18-year-old senior. He spent six years with them in the military police unit in Sioux Falls. He also started a business degree at South Dakota State University. He is continuing his education part time in Sioux Falls.

Before coming to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, he was with the state highway patrol. He started with the sheriff’s office Feb. 2. He continues with his field training and riding with different experienced officers.

Welsh decided to apply in the sheriff’s office because he knew some of the officers in the department and thought he would throw his hat in the ring.

“As I kept going through the interview process, more and more I felt like this is the right place for me to be,” Welsh said. “It’s a growing department and I just really enjoy their philosophy in the way they do things, but also the leadership they have there.”