Ozzie Knezovich

Ozzie Knezovich is an American politician and the current sheriff of Spokane County, Washington. He was first appointed to the position in 2006 and has since been re-elected three times. Knezovich is a member of the Republican Party.

Career

Following the resignation of Mark Sterk in 2006, Knezovich was appointed to complete his term as sheriff of Spokane County, Washington. Knezovich had worked with the Spokane County Sheriff's Office for ten years, but was considered an outsider candidate. The local Republican Party and the outgoing sheriff both endorsed Cal Walker, the Spokane Valley Chief of Police.[1] Walker unsuccessfully ran against Knezovich in the Republican primary later that year,[2][3] and Knezovich has remained in office ever since.

During the 2016 presidential election, Knezovich supported Donald Trump, while questioning his quality as a candidate. Knezovich stated of the 2016 presidential candidates, "I look at it, and I say, ‘Is this the best we can field?’ It kind of speaks to the level of people that are willing to run for office anymore."[4]

At a March 2017 political rally, Knezovich praised President Trump and blamed former president Barack Obama for violence committed against law enforcement officers. Knezovich told the crowd, "never in my history have we been hunted and assassinated, and I blame Barack Obama."[5] Knezovich also accused Governor of Washington Jay Inslee of violating his oath of office by signing an executive order prohibiting state agencies from assisting in enforcement federal immigration laws.[5] The Spokesman-Review later reported that murder of law enforcement officers reached historic lows during the Obama administration, and that Inslee's executive order did not apply to sheriff's departments. Knezovich stood by his remarks.[6]

Following a school shooting at Freeman High School in Rockford, Washington in 2017, Knezovich held a press conference in which he blamed the media and elected officials for "a counterculture of violence, a culture that is enamored with school shooting."[7] He also criticized violent video games and gang culture, while asserting that guns were not to blame.[8] Knezovich had previously blamed the media and activists for violence following the 2016 shooting of Dallas police officers.[9]

Electoral history

2006

Spokane County Sheriff[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ozzie Knezovich* 112,485 75.4
Democratic James Flavel 36,778 24.6
Total votes 149,263 100.0

2010

Spokane County Sheriff[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ozzie Knezovich* 135,540 100.0
Total votes 135,540 100.0

2014

Spokane County Sheriff[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Ozzie Knezovich* 103,443 70.9
Republican Doug Orr 42,416 29.1
Total votes 145,859 100.0

References

  1. ↑ Brunt, Jonathan (April 12, 2006). "Knezovich tapped as sheriff". Spokesman-Review. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  2. ↑ Brunt, Jonathan (April 15, 2006). "Sheriff now boss of rival: Knezovich, Walker to meet in primary". Spokesman-Review. Retrieved August 1, 2018 – via HighBeam Research.
  3. ↑ "September 19, 2006 Primary". Washington Secretary of State. September 29, 2006. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  4. ↑ Camden, Jim; Hill, Kip (March 5, 2016). "Local Republicans begin taking sides on Trump". Spokesman-Review. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  5. 1 2 Culver, Nina (March 4, 2017). "Knezovich, Haskell and Fagan praise Trump at rally in Spokane Valley". Spokesman-Review. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  6. ↑ Sokol, Chad (March 6, 2017). "Knezovich stands behind heated comments blaming Obama for 'war on cops'". Spokesman-Review. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  7. ↑ Rourke, Caroline (September 15, 2017). "Knezovich calls out media and "culture of violence" after Freeman shooting". KXLY. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  8. ↑ Glover, Jonathan (September 14, 2017). "Knezovich: Societal breakdown to blame for Freeman school shooting". Spokesman-Review. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  9. ↑ Sokol, Chad; Culver, Nina (July 8, 2016). "'A shock, but not a surprise': Local officers, activists respond to killings in Dallas, Minnesota, Lousiana [sic]". Spokesman-Review. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  10. ↑ "November 7, 2006 General Election". Washington Secretary of State. November 28, 2006. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  11. ↑ "November 02, 2010 General Election". Washington Secretary of State. November 23, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  12. ↑ "November 4, 2014 General Election". Washington Secretary of State. November 25, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.