The People’s Choice Sheriff John McMahon
Sheriff Photo File
Sheriff
of Big Bear Valley Captain Tom Bradford and Mayor Jay Obernolte shakes hands
with San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon at a Meet & Greet at the
Obernolte home.
Sheriff
John McMahon spoke about his successful win as San Bernardino County’s sheriff
with BigBearLake.net News Editor E T Russell. His upfront statement of gratitude
was of how very humbled he was that the voters of County elected him to fill
the shoes as their sheriff once again. A great support has been accredited to Sheriff
McMahon and the department, in the Big Bear Valley for the manhunt and apprehension
of Dorner, in February 2013. He acknowledged that Captain Tom Bradford and his
Big Bear Lake Deputies, who acted as professional law enforcement officers are
to be commended, too.
John McMahon was appointed Sheriff-Coroner of San Bernardino
County by the Board of Supervisors on December 31, 2012. He is known for
his tough-on-crime philosophy and a soup-to-nuts knowledge of the law
enforcement strategies to keep our neighborhoods, schools, and businesses safe.
McMahon began his career with the San Bernardino County
Sheriff’s Department in 1985 as a patrol deputy at the Needles Police/Sheriff’s
Station. When promoted to sergeant in November 1994, he was assigned
supervisory positions in the Detentions and Corrections, Patrol, and
Administrative Support Bureaus.
The
twenty-nine years of being a member of the ‘premier’ law enforcement, San
Bernardino County Sheriff Department commented that the years have been like a
brotherhood, a common bond of fellow officers, of which John McMahon treasures.
Identifying what’s right and knowing the
law with continuously learning seems to keep him on his toes.
Sheriff
John McMahon will be focusing more on the HOPE PROJECT, that has been organized
to help the homeless and the difficulties facing homeless children. The
Sheriff’s goal is to staff unincorporated areas with more law enforcement
officers.
Sheriff John McMahon leads
one of California’s largest and most diverse departments of 1716 sworn
deputies, 1540 professional employees and 1844 volunteers on an annual budget
of 488 million dollars.
He has an Associate
of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from Victor Valley College, and a
Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice Management from Union Institute
& University. He is certified as a Jail Manager through the American Jail Association, and is a graduate of the Los
Angeles Police West Point Leadership Program. John McMahon was also
inducted into the Victor Valley College Alumni Hall of Fame in 2007.
John and his wife
Michelle have been married for twenty-five years and have two daughters, Abby
and Ally.
McMahon frequents the Big
Bear Valley to enjoy events and recently participated in the Special Olympics
Polar Plunge. Occasionally, when there is a search or incident in the San
Bernardino Mountains that requires air-ship assistance; 40-King will come
to the rescue with Sheriff
John McMahon at the helm.