3-year-old cancer patient sworn in as youngest sheriff’s deputy

An Indiana boy is the newest — and youngest — sheriff’s deputy in the United States after being officially sworn in on Wednesday.

According to FOX59, 3-year-old Wyatt Schmaltz who has stage 4 cancer has been given the same powers as any other sheriff’s deputy.

His first order of business from the county sheriff’s office is simple.

“We have given him all the powers of a real sheriff deputy, which are to carry out the orders of the sheriff,” Sheriff Stoffel told FOX59 . “Right now, his only orders are to get better.”

Schmaltz is battling Neuroblastoma, which is a rare form of cancer, according to WANE-TV, and was honored by the sheriff’s department because of the courage he’s shown.

“He has a tumor in his abdomen that was too big to be removed. They just had to biopsy it. Then he had cancer in his bone marrow. So it was in both knees, his hips, and his spine. It’s been a very long journey,” Wyatt’s mom, April Schmaltz, told WANE-TV. “We found out on the 14th [of April] and by the 18th he was starting chemo, which was very quick because what they said he has is very aggressive.”

Sheriff Terry Stoffel with the Huntington County Sheriff’s Department in Indiana and Indiana State Police trooper Robert Jeffers swore in Schmaltz from his hospital bed and presented him with a uniform and badge.

Contact Kira Terry at kterry@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @kiraterry