Ozzie Knezovich
The Sheriff For
Spokane County(R)
My law enforcement career started when I served as a Town Marshal for the small community of Superior, Wyoming. During my career, I have worked for the City of Rock Springs Wyoming serving as a patrol officer, relief patrol supervisor and I was charged with developing the City's School Resource Officer program. I have also served as a patrol officer for the City of Olympia, Washington.
On April 11, 2006 the Spokane County Board of Commissioners unanimously appointed me to the position of Spokane County Sheriff. Subsequently, I was elected to the Office of Sheriff in the fall of 2006 by 75% of the popular vote.
As Sheriff of Spokane County, I oversee the law enforcement activities in the unincorporated areas of Spokane County and several contract cities and towns. I am also responsible for managing the county's Corrections System and the county's Department of Emergency Management.
The Spokane County Sheriff's Office is comprised of 670 employees and has a $71 million dollar annual budget.
Prior to being appointed to the office of Sheriff, I held the following positions at the Sheriff's Office: patrol deputy, field training officer, property crimes detective, sex crimes detective, SWAT team operator, SWAT Team supervisor, patrol supervisor, and training supervisor.
Serving as co-chair of two committees with the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs helps to keep me informed and involved with my counterparts in other law enforcement agencies; I serve on the Accreditation Committee and the Intelligence and Technology Committee, I have a high degree of interest in both areas.
I also sit on the State of Washington's Criminal Justice Training Commission's Basic Law Enforcement Standards and Education board. My philosophy is that the most important thing I will do is prepare those in law enforcement to serve their communities in a professional manner and, in doing so, help to develop the future leaders within the law enforcement community.
As a result of this philosophy, I have stressed the need to develop quality law enforcement training within the Spokane County Region; opening the Spokane County Sheriff's in-service training to all of the law enforcement agencies within the region. I believe that providing consistent training will better prepare law enforcement officers in serving their communities and working together. The Spokane County Sheriff's Office has developed a training philosophy which has made it a major provider of law enforcement training, not only for the State of Washington, but also the nation.
In 2008, we hosted 60 law enforcement courses, drawing over 3000 students to Spokane County from all over the United States and Canada. The Sheriff's Office has developed partnerships with many agencies to provide this training including the FBI-LEEDA. The Sheriff's Office hosted the FBI-LEEDA Command Institute for Law Enforcement Executives in 2007 and 2008.
13308 West Pinebluff Road
Nine Mile Falls WA 99026