John F. Nowels
Republican · WA · Spokane County Sheriff
John F. Nowels serves as Spokane County Sheriff. He has worked in the Sheriff's Office for more than 28 years, including prior service as Undersheriff and in multiple command roles, and holds degrees in criminal justice and organizational leadership.
Track record
Public Safety and Crime Control
· 2 records
Joined Spokane-area law enforcement leaders in publicly presenting anti-homicide strategies and urging state policy changes, including a two-to-three-month jail term for a first drug possession conviction unless the defendant completes a treatment program, and attributing part of the rise in aggravated assaults to state drug policy.
March 16, 2025For
Source: spokesman.com · researched July 23, 2026
Opened the Spokane County Real Time Crime Center, the first such facility in Washington, built with nearly $4 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds and staffed by analysts who route 911, camera, and license-plate-reader information to deputies during active incidents.
December 2, 2024For
Source: spokesman.com · researched July 23, 2026
Data Privacy
· 1 record
Deactivated the Spokane County Sheriff's Office network of automated license plate reader cameras after the governor signed Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6002, saying the restrictions exposed deputies to gross misdemeanor liability and criticizing the Legislature's understanding of the technology.
April 1, 2026Against
Source: kxly.com · researched July 23, 2026
Civil Rights
· 2 records
Terminated the employment of Spokane County Sheriff's Office Sergeant Clay Hilton after meeting with him and his representatives and determining that his conduct in the August 14, 2023 arrest of a 63-year-old man fell clearly outside department policy and led to criminal charges.
September 3, 2024For
Source: spokesman.com · researched July 23, 2026
Told the Spokane Valley City Council that the Spokane County Sheriff's Office was overhauling how it documents and reviews every use of force by deputies, after a deputy's violent arrest of a man in a Spokane Valley park, saying the office has to uphold public trust.
October 25, 2023For
Source: spokesman.com · researched July 23, 2026
General
· 2 records
Joined the sheriffs of Pend Oreille, Stevens, and Ferry counties in filing a complaint in Pend Oreille County against Governor Bob Ferguson seeking a preliminary injunction against a new state law that lets the Criminal Justice Training Commission revoke a sheriff's certification and thereby remove an elected sheriff from office.
April 3, 2026
Source: spokesman.com · researched July 23, 2026
Opted the Spokane County Sheriff's Office out of Washington's $100 million local law enforcement hiring grant program by refusing to sign the required data agreement, citing the monthly use-of-force reporting burden including time-to-force data, the county's forecast $20 million shortfall, and the grant covering only 75% of a deputy's salary.
August 17, 2025
Source: spokesman.com · researched July 23, 2026
Integrity and Ethics
· 1 record
As Spokane County undersheriff, served a four-week unpaid suspension costing roughly $12,000 in wages after an internal affairs investigation into a July 2019 remark he made to precinct staff about a deputy's ex-wife; he self-reported the incident and accepted responsibility.
June 21, 2020
Source: spokesman.com · researched July 23, 2026
Elections
- Sheriff · August 4, 2026 · Spokane County, Washington · incumbent
Profile last researched July 23, 2026.