Canadian County Sheriff – Chris West

Sheriff Chris West is a fifth generation Oklahoman, and lifelong resident of Canadian County. A 1980 graduate of Yukon High School, West attended college for one year before enlisting in the United States Marine Corps. As a U.S. Marine, West served assignments at Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, California and with the U.S. Marine Detachment, United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. West received an honorable discharge, separating from active duty as a Non-Commissioned Officer in 1984.

Following his service in the Marines, Sheriff West served twenty-eight years with the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, retiring from the Highway Patrol on Dec 31, 2012 at the rank of Captain. During his service with the Highway Patrol, West worked in assignments at the State Capitol, as a Traffic Trooper, Academy training staff, Field Supervisor, Troop Commander, Agency Spokesperson, and as a Firearms Instructor and member of the Highway Patrol Honor Guard and Tactical Team.

Following retirement from the Highway Patrol, West was appointed as Canadian County Undersheriff on Jan 2, 2013, and worked in that capacity until he took office as the elected sheriff of Canadian County on January 3, 2017. West ran unopposed in 2020, and began a second term as sheriff in January 2021.

During his 38 years in law enforcement, Sheriff West has amassed over 3600 hours of law enforcement training, and earned an Advanced Law Enforcement Certification. Sheriff West is a 2004 graduate of the FBI National Academy, and holds more than a dozen FEMA National Incident Management System certifications, as well as both an Advanced and Instructor level Certifications in Emergency Public Information. West is also a 2013 graduate of the Oklahoma Sheriff's Academy.

In January 2017 Sheriff West was elected to the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Sheriff's Association (OSA). Also in 2017, West was named to Oklahoma's Council for Law Enforcement Education & Training (CLEET) by the Oklahoma Sheriff's Association; representing Sheriffs with county populations above twenty-five thousand. In October, 2021 West was elected to Vice-Chair of the CLEET Council. West serves as a member of the Oklahoma District Attorney's Council's Forensic Sciences Improvement Task Force. Sheriff West previously served as a Board Member to the Oklahoma Board of Tests for Alcohol & Drug Influence from 2017 until 2021, representing the Oklahoma Sheriff's & Peace Officers Association.

From 2017 to 2019, Sheriff West served the Oklahoma Sheriff's Association as the Chairperson for the North Central Region, and from 2018 until 2019 as the OSA's representative to the Western States Sheriff's Association. In August, 2019, West was elected to the office of Second Vice President of the OSA, and named as the OSA's 2019 "Sheriff of the Year. In 2020 West was elected to the office of First Vice President of the OSA, and took office as President of the Oklahoma Sheriffs' Association in October 2021.

Sheriff West was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Sheriff's Association (NSA) in 2019, Secretary of the National Sheriffs Association in 2021, and elected to the office of 3rd Vice President of the National Sheriffs Association where he represents over 3,000 Sheriffs and 14,000 NSA members from across the nation. As a Board Member to the National Sheriff's Association, West is assigned to the NSA's Homeland Security, and Narcotics & Drug Interdiction Committees.

Sheriff West attended the JINSA (Jewish Institute for the National Security of America) Homeland Security/Counter Terrorism training program in Israel as part of a U.S. Law Enforcement delegation in December 2019.

Sheriff West possesses an Associate of Arts in Criminal Justice from Redlands Community College, and a Bachelor of Science in Management & Leadership from Southern Nazarene University.

Sheriff West and his wife, Kelly, a Registered Nurse, have been married 40 years, and have two adult, married sons, and several grandchildren. Sheriff West and his wife reside Mustang, and are members of Council Road Baptist Church.