“If I’m being completely honest — if it weren’t for my faith in God, I don’t know how I would make it through this career sometimes.”
Those words were the heartfelt sentiments of Capt. Randle Huddleston with the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.
“Working in law enforcement is definitely a calling,” he noted. “If it’s not a calling, then you probably won’t last long in this profession.”
Huddleston grew up on a dairy farm in Oregon County, where he spent his summers working in the hay fields and the rest of the year doing various kinds of work around the farm.
“After I graduated high school, I went on to work at some saw mills, and stuff like that,” he noted. “But around the time I fell in love with my wife, I realized I should probably start getting serious about a career.”
Like so many other officers have related from their own experiences, Huddleston said the allure of working in law enforcement went back to his childhood.
“I remember when I was around eight or nine years old, my dad got pulled over by a trooper,” Huddleston recalled. “There was just something about the way he carried himself and the way he and my father interacted with each other that got to me. I liked the way he carried himself and the way his uniform looked, and I thought I would want to do something like that.”
Born to serve
Huddleston was raised in a home where service to fellow man was a necessity.
“My father taught me that you never look down on someone for any reason, unless you’re reaching down to give them a hand up,” he explained. “My grandpa was a WWII vet, and I had two uncles that were also in the military. I didn’t really think the military was the route I should take, but I did feel like I needed to serve in a profession where I could help my community.”
By the time he had made the decision to pursue training in the law enforcement academy, his brother Travis Huddleston decided he wanted to do the same thing.
“We went to different academies, but we were both in training at the same time,” Huddleston remarked. “Travis is a deputy in Wayne County, and my son Tysen is 20 years old and working as a dispatcher here for the Butler County Sheriff’s office. So, you could say it has kind of become a family thing.”
By 2006, Huddleston had joined the sheriff’s department as a reserve deputy, and he went full time in 2007.
“My goal was to make the rank of corporal, because that was the rank my grandpa achieved in the military,” Huddleston explained. “Unfortunately, my grandpa died before I made that rank.”
By 2012, Huddleston was placed into the canine officer position and by 2014, he had been promoted to investigator. He achieved the rank of captain in 2023.
“I can’t complain about my career,” he noted. “I have had a lot of opportunities offered to me that I feel like I may not have deserved.”
Huddleston has worked on numerous cases, but he said there are three cases in particular that stand out to him the most.
“Without a doubt, the toughest cases we deal with involve children,” he explained. “And the three cases that will always stand out in my memory involved children, and I was able to secure confessions and get those individuals convicted.
“There’s really no more true innocent victim than a child. We truly do fight the monsters that no one wants to think about in society. People are able to go about their daily lives without realizing just how bad some people are because of the work that we do.”
Finding peace
Huddleston said he is grateful to serve Butler County for multiple reasons.
“I have to say that the people of Butler County really are supportive of law enforcement,” he stated. “I feel very fortunate for that.”
However, the rigors of the job can take their toll, and Huddleston said he needs to decompress like anyone else would.
“I love to hunt,” he remarked. “I am primarily a deer hunter, but I won’t tum down any opportunity to go on any kind of hunt. I just leave being outdoors.”
Huddleston and his wife Crystal have three children: Tysen, 20; a 16-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son.
“My wife and daughter sing and play keyboard in church, and my son and I play the drums,” Huddleston said. “We’re also very active with the youth in our church.
“I would have to definitely say that my faith has gotten stronger since I’ve been in this job. It has been necessary for me to get through things, and I can definitely say that I have been blessed.”