michael w. varilek

Deputy Sheriff - K-9 Handler/Drug Recognition Expert/Task Force Officer

Corson County (South Dakota) Sheriff’s Office

Mike has been a certified Law Enforcement Officer in South Dakota since 2006, a certified Narcotic Detector Dog Handler since 2009, and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) since 2017. Mike also holds a certification as a Certified Interdiction Officer under the National Criminal Enforcement Association (NCEA). 

Since 2010, Mike has been a full-time Deputy Sheriff for Corson County Sheriff’s Office in North Central South Dakota where, in addition to his regular duties, he is assigned as a Task Force Officer (TFO) for the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force (NPSTDETF).

Mike is currently a member of the North Central South Dakota Multi-Jurisdiction Criminal Enforcement Team (NCSD MJCET), a multi-jurisdiction team made up of six counties and one municipality, which travels from county-to-county conducting criminal enforcement operations. 

Since March of 2015, Mike has also served as the Director of Emergency Management for Corson County and recently served as the Vice Chairman of the Warhawk Emergency Management District. 

Since beginning his career in 2006, Mike has conducted thousands of traffic stops and consensual encounters which have resulted in countless drug, weapon, impaired driving and wanted person arrests.

 Course Topics: Criminal Interdiction, Criminal Patrol in Rural Areas, Roadside Interviews