Kyle Overmyer was once one of the youngest sheriffs in Ohio, a former narcotics officer who worked undercover, bought kilos of cocaine, and built a reputation for taking drug dealers off the streets.
Then his own life began to unravel.
What started with a legitimate prescription for painkillers turned into opioid addiction. Kyle says he began doctor-shopping, stealing Percocet from his father, and eventually going through prescription drugs surrendered to law enforcement inside his own sheriff’s office.
In 2016, everything collapsed.
Kyle was hit with a 43-count indictment, booked through the same system he once controlled, and ultimately sentenced to four years in prison.
In this conversation with Rachel Uchitel, Kyle opens up about the double life he was living, the ego that convinced him he could keep running for sheriff even after being charged, entering prison as a former law-enforcement officer, spending 30 days in solitary confinement, being offered pills almost immediately, carrying a shank for protection, losing his marriage and career, and rebuilding his life after release.
He also talks about becoming homeless after prison, taking a $9.50-an-hour job frying chicken, repairing his relationship with his children, and eventually returning to addiction recovery, public service, and law-enforcement-related work.
This is a story about power, addiction, accountability, prison, and what it takes to build a life again after losing almost everything.