Deschutes County Sheriff

Sheriff L. Shane Nelson

Sheriff Nelson has been in law enforcement and with the Sheriff’s Office since 1993.  The Deschutes County Commissioners unanimously appointed Nelson as the 9th Sheriff of Deschutes County in July 2015. He was voted in by the citizens of Deschutes County in November 2016 and again in 2020. He was born and raised in Bend and graduated from Mountain View High School in 1988.  After graduating from Oregon State University in 1993 he moved back to Bend.  He and his wife Lisa, a retired Bend Police Officer, have four children.

Sheriff Nelson is an active member of the community; as Sheriff of Deschutes County, he serves on the Executive Board of the Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association as ​President, Chairs the Sheriffs’ Institute/Command College Committee, and is a member of the Budget, and Legislative Committees; Board Member and past Vice Chair of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area/Chair of the Finance Subcommittee; Secretary/Treasurer and current Vice Chair of the Oregon Accreditation Alliance Board of Directors; he serves on the Board of Directors for Pilot Butte Partners and has served on the Board of Directors for the Redmond School District.  He serves on the Deschutes County Shared Future Coalition.  Sheriff Nelson is the past Director of the Redmond Youth Football Program and has coached youth soccer and basketball for the Redmond Area Parks and Recreation District. He is a past member of the Redmond Development Commission Safety Stakeholder Committee, as well as, a past member of the Redmond Executive Association.

CAREER
• 1993 – Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office – Reserve Deputy
• 1994 – Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office – Patrol Deputy Sheriff
• 1999 – Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office – Corporal
• 2001 – Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office – Criminal Detective
• 2003 – Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office – Patrol Sergeant
• 2006 – Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office – Patrol Lieutenant
• 2010 – Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office – Administrative Lieutenant
• 2012 – Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office – Operations Division Commander
• 2013 – Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office – Corrections Division Commander
• 2015 – July 1, 2015 - Sheriff of Deschutes County

EDUCATION
• 1993 – Oregon State University, B. S. Speech Communication

PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
• Department of Public Safety Standards and Training – Executive Certificate, Management, Supervisory, Advanced, Intermediate, and Basic Certificates
• Department of Public Safety Standards and Training – Management Course
• Mark Hatfield School of Government, Portland State University- “Supervision in the Public Sector”
• Graduate of Class #2 Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association Command College
• Graduate of Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association New Sheriffs’ Institute
• Graduate of the 2012 Leadership Bend Class

AVOCATION
• Family outings, skiing, hunting, hiking and fishing.