Leadership

Excellent leaders gather facts, listen to input, and act decisively. I've always been told that "the good lord gave you two ears and one mouth, so you can listen twice as much as you speak". Great leaders possess the ability to be decisive. In critical moments, hesitation costs lives. Over the course of my career; as a supervisor, as a division commander, a SWAT Team Leader, a SWAT Team Commander, an Officer Safety Instructor, a Specialized Driving Instructor, and on the front lines, have made several critical decisions.

I am known amongst my colleagues for making the right decisions and owning them with extreme ownership. I have stood behind decisions even when it was hard. I stood firmly behind decisions as a multi-agency tactical operations commander during a critical incident in 2019.

The critical decisions that I made that night potentially saved lives, the lives of officers and the life of a suspect. I am not perfect, no one is.

As Sheriff, I will make decisions, sometimes very hard ones, and I will own each of them. I will not deflect or pass blame on anyone else. I am aware that the ripple effect is real and could alter outcomes. I will make those decisions out of intellect, experience and facts. They will not be made out of emotion, assumptions or external influences.