Governor removes Dubois County sheriff from Indiana Law Enforcement board after settlement rejected

Indiana Governor Mike Braun has removed Dubois County Sheriff Tom Kleinhelter from the state’s law enforcement training board after members rejected a proposed settlement that would have delayed the sheriff’s potential decertification.

The Indiana Law Enforcement Training Board voted 9–4 Monday to reject an agreement that would have allowed Kleinhelter to remain certified as a law enforcement officer until Jan. 1, 2027. The vote came after nearly an hour of debate during a meeting at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield.

Hours after the vote, Braun announced he had removed Kleinhelter from the training board.

In a statement, Braun said the decision followed a recommendation from Indiana State Police Superintendent Anthony Scott, who chairs the board.

The proposed agreement would have required Kleinhelter to immediately resign from the training board but allowed him to keep his law enforcement certification until 2027. Supporters said the arrangement would guarantee Kleinhelter ultimately relinquishes his certification and prevent him from working as a law enforcement officer elsewhere in Indiana after his current term ends.

However, several board members opposed the deal, arguing it would delay accountability for the county’s top law enforcement official.

Kleinhelter currently faces multiple criminal charges in Marion County related to allegations that he lied during a state police investigation. He did not attend Monday’s meeting, and neither he nor his attorney responded to requests for comment.

Despite the controversy, Kleinhelter remains the elected sheriff of Dubois County and still holds his law enforcement credentials. Officials noted that even if the training board eventually revokes his certification, it would not automatically remove him from office because the authority of a sheriff comes from being elected.

The case will now return to the board’s decertification subcommittee to determine the next steps, which could include a formal hearing or renewed settlement discussions.

A decertification hearing is currently scheduled for next week, though officials said that timeline could change as Kleinhelter’s criminal case moves forward. A pretrial conference in that case is scheduled for May 12.

This story includes reporting from Casey Smith of the Indiana Capital Chronicle.