Topic: Mark Hackel

Mark A. Hackel is the sheriff of Macomb County, Michigan. He has been with the sheriff's department since 1981, and was elected to the position of sheriff in November 2000 by the voters of Macomb County. Mark was re-elected in 2004, receiving 71.9 percent of the vote. He is the son of the previous county sheriff, William Hackel, who resigned in 2000 after being convicted on April 27, 2000, of two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. After his father's resignation, his son, the current sheriff, then ran for the office and won the election. Mark was also re-elected in 2008 receiving 78.4 percent of the vote and setting a new record of 314,778 total votes for a county wide elected office. As Macomb County’s top vote getter he is widely considered the leading candidate to become the county’s first County Executive.

Mark's educational background includes a high school education from Sterling Heights High School, Bachelor of Arts Degree from Wayne State University in Criminal Justice and a Master Degree in Public Administration from Central Michigan University. He has also trained at the FBI's National Academy and the U.S. secret service's dignitary protection school. Sheriff Hackel also teaches at Macomb Community College, and hosts a local cable show called A Safer Macomb.

Sheriff Hackel and his office came to national prominence in the investigation regarding the death of Tara Grant in 2007, which resulted in a murder charge being brought against her husband, Stephen Grant.