In Their Own Words: Johnson County Neighbors on Adam King

Ask the people of Johnson County who have known Adam King over the years — as a friend, a churchgoer, a neighbor, a lawman — and the same picture comes back again and again. Here, in their own words, is what some of them wanted the community to know.

“He sat with a little boy whose father he had arrested.”

“I was an assistant leader for the Sparky AWANA group at Field Street Baptist Church. On family night in October 2015, Adam showed up and sat with a little boy in our class — a child whose father was in jail, because Adam was the one who had arrested him. I had to fight back tears. I’ve had nothing but respect for him ever since. At events like Badges, Bags & Bingo, I’ve watched person after person walk up to Adam to thank him, hug him, and ask for a picture. He is a man of God who lives his faith.”

“Like second parents to me.”

“Adam’s daughter has been my best friend since fifth grade — she was maid of honor in my wedding — and Adam and Tammy have been like second parents to me since I was a girl. Theirs was the one house my strict parents always let me stay at, because they knew I’d be loved and looked after. We still spend Thanksgiving and Christmas together. I watched Adam and Tammy serve in church with open hearts. When I went into the corrections field, Adam coached me through my interviews, took me on a tour of the jail — where I saw the inmates come out to talk to him the moment he walked in — and never stopped encouraging me to share my faith. They have only ever shown me love, kindness, and care.”

“A heart for service.”

“Adam has been our friend for more than 24 years, and in all that time he’s shown nothing but kindness and Christian character. He’d host prayer breakfasts with members of his command staff, invite us and others, and they’d pray together and talk through ways to help our community. Both Adam and Tammy have always put service to others first.”

“A friend for 24 years.”

“I’ve enjoyed Adam’s friendship — personal and professional — for the last 24 years, and shared many a meal with him along the way.”

“I know his character through his words and deeds.”

“I’ve known Adam King’s character through his words and deeds for more than 25 years — from the adoption of his daughter, to the county museum, to the Child Advocacy Center, to volunteering at the jail. He brought in GED classes, job-training programs, and hopeful community mentors for the inmates, and he’s been a careful steward of taxpayer dollars at the jail. He is doing his job, and doing it well.”

“Hope and real tools.”

“I’ve seen first-hand how Adam has improved the lives of inmates — seeking out programs that give them hope and real tools to use when they’re released. I’ve seen the inmates’ response to him, and it’s genuine and positive. I believe in his character.”

“A man of integrity.”

“I believe he is a man of integrity and stands up for what is right.”

“I know the man.”

“I know the man and what he has done for Johnson County.”

“He believes in the correctional part.”

“I’m with Christian Women’s Job Corps, and in the summer of 2023 Sheriff King invited us into the jail — the best ministry gift ever. He believes wholeheartedly in the correctional part: what good does it do to lock someone up and then turn them loose the same way? The women who take these courses leave with renewed hope and new tools, equipped for a better and new life, and the overall effect is an increased peace and purpose. We were told the women’s repeat-offender numbers came down significantly. At every graduation, the Sheriff is there in person, encouraging and affirming each one.”

These are neighbors, friends, and fellow church members — real people from Johnson County, sharing what they have seen with their own eyes over decades. It is, quite simply, the picture of the Adam King they know.