Umatilla County Sheriff's Office Capt. Sterrin Ward in early December 2023 in Bend displays the distinguished service award she received from the Oregon State Sheriff’s Association at its annual conference.

 

PENDLETON — Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Sterrin Ward has received a top honor from her peers for her work on issuing gun permits under Oregon Measure 114.

The Oregon State Sheriff’s Association at its conference Dec. 5-9 in Bend recognized Ward with its distinguished service award.

“OSSA was tasked with putting together a process for law enforcement agencies to accept applications and issue M114 permits,” the association stated in a press release. “This process had to be created from scratch as no such system ever existed.”

Ward was the workgroup chair and is one of the most knowledgeable resources in the state relating to the state process of issuing a concealed handgun license, according to the press release. That made her a natural choice for being the workgroup chair on Measure 114 processes.

Her skills and experience led the workgroup to produce a detailed 49-page permit process that provides a clear roadmap even for agencies that have never been involved in similar work.

The measure, while modeled after Oregon Concealed Handgun licensing statutes, left a lot of questions as to how the process should actually work.

“The process was under intense scrutiny and had multiple complex technical aspects to it,” according to the press release.

The process needed to be quick, with the knowledge the state was looking at aspects of the entire process, which involved items ranging from regulating firearms purchases as well as litigation about the measure in state and federal courts. “The process involves local law enforcement agencies, the Oregon State Police and even the FBI in a complex web of interactions and steps to culminate in issuing a permit,” according to the press release.

Ward “excelled at providing the leadership and did not hesitate to meet the challenge head on,” the OSSA reported.

Her dedication to the project often led to her working during the weekends and late into the evenings. Ward through all of that continued to lead her division at the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office and was available to staff.

The OSSA called Ward “a shining example of the commitment, drive, expertise and selflessness that brings honor to the office of sheriff throughout Oregon.”