4
Wednesday, October 21, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Candidates vie for sheriff’s position
By Jim Cornelius
Editor in Chief
Sheriff Shane Nelson
is running for re-election,
challenged by Bend Police
Officer Scott Schaier.
The November 3 elec-
tion comes as the Deschutes
County Sheriff9s Office has
fully configured its comple-
ment of Sisters-based depu-
ties and placed Lt. Chad
Davis in command at the
Sisters substation under its
revised contract with the
City of Sisters (see related
story, page 1).
<We9re looking forward
to the foot beat and the bike
patrol in the City of Sisters,=
Nelson told The Nugget.
Allocating resources
and enforcement efforts in
Sisters will be a collabora-
tive effort with City govern-
ment. Strategic planning will
set priorities for law enforce-
ment in Sisters and the west-
county area.
<We listen to their voices
(city officials and citizens)
and also pay attention to the
calls for service we have in
that area,= Nelson said.
Nelson was appointed to
his position from within the
DCSO by Deschutes County
Commissioners in 2015 and
was elected to the position
4 serving one of the fast-
est-growing counties in the
nation 4 in 2016.
He is also leading the
sheriff 9s office at a time
when law enforcement is
under an unprecedented level
of scrutiny around issues
of race and how it inter-
acts with people in distress
due to mental health issues.
Nelson says he is obviously
aware of that scrutiny, but
he does not feel that local
law enforcement is under
pressure.
<I don9t feel any pres-
sure there,= he said. <I feel
support to try different
options.=
He noted that, <Deputy
sheriff9s are problem solv-
ers= and that <not every
occasion requires a uni-
formed person.=
He is supportive of
efforts to integrate deputies9
response into a broader set
of mental health services,
including a mobile crisis
unit with mental health pro-
fessionals and the use of
the new county stabilization
center, which recently went
to 24-hour operations. He
noted that there is a behav-
ioral health specialist on the
job in the jail.
<In some cases, it9s bet-
ter (to have) medical or
behavioral health response,
better (to) hand off to more
extended services.=
He noted that people with
mental health and behavioral
issues can have a dispropor-
tionate level of engagement
with law enforcement until
other services are accessed.
He noted that recently one
individual had 200 calls
for service. Deputy Evan
Kennedy worked to get the
person linked up with ser-
vices that could address the
underlying problems.
Nelson said DCSO and
other local agencies have
been developing <solutions
outside the criminal justice
system for several years.=
Law enforcement profes-
sionals themselves face chal-
lenges to their well-being 4
physical, mental and emo-
tional. Earlier this month,
DCSO rolled out a <Health
of the Force Initiative (see
related story, page XX).
<The law enforcement
profession is stressful on
our deputy sheriffs, and their
families,= Nelson said in a
release announcing the ini-
tiative. <I work with great
teammates. We want to do
all we can to improve and
take care of them and their
families in order to ensure
successful careers in provid-
ing excellent public safety
and customer service. This
enhanced Health of the Force
program will provide addi-
tional tools and resources
for deputies to care for their
physical, mental, and spiri-
tual well-being.=
The initiative includes
enriching of the existing
peer support program, and
enhancement of the current
partnership with the Central
Oregon Public Safety
Chaplaincy. The Health of
the Force Initiative institutes
a voucher system for <no
questions asked= behavioral
health counseling; provides
for a sleep study to measure
the effects of shift work; and
provides means of enhancing
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Accountability of law
enforcement is at the fore-
front of many citizens9
concerns. Nelson told The
Nugget that DCSO is testing
body cams in combination
with in-car cameras and will,
at some point, require them
agency-wide.
<It will be Sheriff9s Office
wide,= Nelson said. <And
the Sisters deputies will be
included in that.=
Nelson9s opponent has
stated that, if elected he
will institute a position of
Undersheriff for DCSO (see
story, page 5). Nelson said
that he will not change his
current command structure,
which he says is <working
effectively.=
<I have three captains
who are second in com-
mand,= he said. <They are all
autonomous with their divi-
sion. For me, right now, an
Undersheriff position is not
needed.=
Sheriff Nelson told The
Nugget that he continues
to be committed to forging
<strong relationships with
the community (we) work
for.= Priorities going for-
ward include <keeping the
illegal marijuana market at
bay= and, in Sisters, mak-
ing sure that quality of life is
maintained even in the face
of growth.
PHOTO PROVIDED
<Livability is our job,= he
said.
Nelson noted that home-
lessness is a pressing issue
countywide, including in
Sisters, and an area the sher-
iff9s office must continue to
work on, in partnership with
other agencies, nonprofits
and providers. Getting more
treatment beds to treat addic-
tion is critical to addressing
the issue, which he feels
needs to be worked on <in
more depth.=
Despite the pressures of
the times, Nelson said that
he is buoyed by the spirit
of the people coming in to
serve in the sheriff9s office,
as evidenced by members of
a recent recruiting class with
whom he talked.
<They are all positive
about law enforcement,=
he said. <That was great
input from our new team
members.=
The new recruits meet
what Nelson considers a
calling.
<I believe in selfless pub-
lic service,= he said.