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Embattled Sheriff John Ward, on Oregon's south coast, faces a criminal investigation and a complaint seeking to revoke his law enforcement certification.
The Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association voted 28-0 on Monday, Aug. 24, to expel Curry County Sheriff John Ward.
Seven sheriffs missed the vote due to scheduling conflicts. Ward declined to appear at the meeting or to present a defense.
The association’s executive director, Tim Svenson, told Oregon Journalism Project in an email the vote marks just the second time the organization has ousted one of its own.
Ward not only was a member of the sheriffs’ association, but also, until Monday, was one of its 36 directors. The nonprofit provides training and support for the state’s sheriffs, and lists as one of its goals “developing and maintaining a public image that will permit the citizens to have confidence in the sheriff’s ability to meet modern police problems.”
As Oregon Journalism Project reported recently, Ward, 68, faces challenges on a number of fronts. He is under FBI investigation related to $391,000 in gifts made to his agency over more than a decade by a foundation in Brookings, the largest city in Curry County. Ward allegedly converted some of those charitable gifts, including a $29,880 travel trailer and a $53,000 storage shed, to his personal use, registering ownership of both in his own name.
The three-member Curry County Board of Commissioners, which is responsible for setting the sheriff’s budget, hired an independent investigator, who compiled a damning report about Ward’s management of his office.
The report found serious problems with Ward’s oversight of a troubled deputy who, after leaving the sheriff’s office and joining the Gold Beach Police Department, went on to shoot two people in separate incidents. The report also highlighted allegations that the sheriff’s office used uncertified police dogs, putting the agency at legal risk, and failed to conduct boat safety inspections and patrols on the Rogue River for which the state paid the sheriff’s office.
Curry County referred an internal investigation of Ward to the Oregon Department of Justice, which found in January that none of the 13 allegations against the sheriff rose to the level of “prosecutable charges.”
Ward, who has previously declined to answer Oregon Journalism Project’s questions, has denied any wrongdoing.
Then in July, Curry County commissioners forwarded the results of the county’s independent investigation of Ward to the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, the agency that trains and certifies law enforcement officers in the state. The board wants the department to revoke Ward’s law enforcement certification.
The Monday vote by the sheriffs’ association to expel Ward is, in the close-knit fraternity of law enforcement leaders, a black mark for the sheriff. Not only does it signal the disapproval of Ward’s peers, it cuts off his access to association resources, including potential legal support.
Ward, like every other county sheriff in Oregon, is independently elected. He easily won reelection in 2024 after running unopposed twice before. He may continue to lead his agency without being a member of the sheriffs’ association.
Ward did not respond to an Oregon Journalism Project request for comment.
