John Horch

Obtained Clark County Council authorization of 22 new deputy positions and several non-sworn support staff roles for the Sheriff's Office, an expansion he credited to work among his office, the county manager, the budget office and the council.

April 22, 2026For

Source: clarkcountytoday.com · researched July 24, 2026

Reported that the Clark County Sheriff's Office hired 23 deputies and 18 unsworn support staff during 2025 and cut its vacancy rate below 10 percent, which he described as the agency's strongest staffing year since he took office in 2022.

January 5, 2026For

Source: thereflector.com · researched July 24, 2026

Publicly backed the three deputies involved in the October 2020 fatal shooting of Kevin Peterson Jr. when Clark County and its insurers settled the family's lawsuit for $1.25 million, citing the independent Lower Columbia Major Crimes Team investigation and the Pierce County prosecutor's review that found the shooting justified and lawful.

October 23, 2024For

Source: clark.wa.gov · researched July 24, 2026

Secured Clark County Council approval of a five-year, $5,332,507 interagency agreement under which the Sheriff's Office took over full-time policing for the city of La Center with one commander serving as city police chief, four deputies and a support specialist, replacing a temporary arrangement in place since March 2024.

October 15, 2024For

Source: clarkcountytoday.com · researched July 24, 2026

Relaunched the Clark County Sheriff's Office School Resource Officer program for the 2024-2025 school year, assigning Deputy Chelsea Quiggle full time to Prairie High School with Battle Ground Public Schools; the program had been paused in 2020 over budget and staffing constraints.

August 16, 2024For

Source: clarkcountytoday.com · researched July 24, 2026

Stood up a Co-Responder Program with Sea Mar Community Health Centers that embedded behavioral health professionals with Clark County Sheriff's Office deputies on crisis calls; the program completed its first 90 days of operation after launching in December 2023.

March 26, 2024For

Source: clarkcountytoday.com · researched July 24, 2026

Started a 30-day patrol field test of Axon body-worn and vehicle-mounted cameras at the Clark County Sheriff's Office, agreed jointly with County Manager Kathleen Otto and the Clark County Deputy Sheriff's Guild, assigning three deputies and one sergeant to wear the cameras.

April 2, 2023For

Source: clarkcountytoday.com · researched July 24, 2026

Criticized Washington's newly signed sheriffs-qualifications law as state overreach, objecting that its decertification process lets a state commission remove an elected sheriff from office without the electorate, while saying he did not object to the added qualification requirements themselves.

April 2, 2026

Source: clarkcountytoday.com · researched July 24, 2026

Rejected the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's designation of Clark County as a sanctuary jurisdiction, stating the Sheriff's Office had never obstructed federal immigration efforts while also confirming the agency does not enforce federal law and works with federal agencies only in emergencies or on criminal warrants.

June 3, 2025

Source: clarkcountytoday.com · researched July 24, 2026

Received the endorsement of outgoing Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins, a 43-year Clark County Sheriff's Office veteran, in the 2022 contest to succeed him, in a signed letter Atkins published under his own name.

October 27, 2022

Source: clarkcountytoday.com · researched July 24, 2026

Instructed the Clark County Sheriff's Office to fulfill public records requests for his employment file and past performance evaluations rather than delaying release until after the November 8, 2022 general election, and publicly acknowledged errors documented during his three decades at the agency.

October 29, 2022

Source: clarkcountytoday.com · researched July 24, 2026