[ Ed. note: Jonathan Riedlinger has authorized the Times & Free Press to publish the following paid political announcement of his candidacy for Kingfisher County Sheriff, subject to the June 18 Republican primary election.]

With the announcement of three other candidates now in the race for Kingfisher County sheriff, I thought it would be a great time to give a little background about myself.

In 2001, I graduated from Beaver High School in Beaver, Okla. At 19 years old, I wanted to start giving back to my community, so I began training for my EMT basic for Beaver County EMS, which was a voluntary ambulance service.

I began my career with the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office from 2001-2004, where I was a dispatcher and jailer.

In 2004, I moved to Kingfi sher and was a dispatcher/ jailer for the Kingfisher County Sheriff’s Office. I was responsible for dispatching five law enforcement agencies, seven fire departments and two ambulance services.

Other duties would include booking of arrested individuals and taking care of current housed inmates. A working night could consist of booking an arrestee into jail, having officers out on a pursuit that resulted in a crash, getting EMS to respond and then having a jail fight break out.

In 2005, I began my law enforcement career at Kingfisher Police Department and served the Kingfisher community for 9 1/2 years.

During this time, I was sent to a three-week rigorous school for Forensic Interviewing. This school was to help and assist, using a special interviewing technique, with children who may have been victims of physical or sexual abuse.

Not only was I tasked with cases our department received, but all law enforcement agencies within our county.

At times, these cases could take me throughout the state to do interviews with victims or suspects. I have assisted the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation( OSBI) with these cases and even flew to Bentonville, Ark.

In 2006, I met Lynda, a hometown girl from the Kingfisher area and in 2008, we were married.

Lynda graduated from Okarche High School and continued her education at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.

In 2008, Lynda graduated from OSU and immediately began her teaching career at Cashion Public Schools. Lynda taught at Cashion for 13 years and during this time we were blessed with two amazing children, Alli, 13, and Jaxon, 11.

Two years ago, Lynda accepted a position with Okarche Public Schools where she teaches English at Okarche High School.

I have been an active member with the Kingfisher Elks Lodge for the past 11 years and spent the last three years on the board as an officer.

We have done some amazing things in Kingfisher County with fundraisers, donations and sponsorship of high school juniors for the Cadet Lawman Academy program, to name a few.

I actively patrol our dirt roads more than the paved ones or highways. I feel municipalities and the highways have their own officers to actively patrol and enforce these areas.

When I am out in the county, I enjoy stopping in and talking with the farmers and other residents.

I have not only been dedicated long term to the two law enforcement agencies I have worked for, but also the citizens I have served.

I put forth my best effort into working a case for victims to see it through, so there are less chances of any loose ends on my part when submitting charges to our Assistant District Attorney’s Office.

In my 19 years of law enforcement experience, I have worked and trained in every facet of criminal investigations from crime scene processing, white collar crimes, narcotic investigations, K9 traffic stops/ interdiction, undercover narcotics investigations, search warrant/tactical operations, manhunts, and domestic/sexual assaults.

I have over 1,300 hours of continuing education through CLEET and I have obtained my “Advanced Offi cer” certification through CLEET, which is the highest one can obtain.

Some of my training includes: a three-week crime scene investigation academy, three-week forensic interviewing school, multiple pistol training and patrol rifle schools, long-range and sniper school, and narcotics investigations.

I am a certified instructor through CLEET and also certified on the Crisis Intervention Team(CIT).

I have assisted in teaching classes at CTTC for practical survival on traffic stops. I am a certified taser instructor and also a certifi ed instructor in less lethal munitions.

In June 2008, I received a “Life Saving Award” from Kingfisher Fire Department and in April 2023, I received the “Deputy of the Year Award.”

I am a firm believer that while we do get “on-the-job training” every day at work, we must continue our education as tactics and laws are constantly changing.

As your Sheriff, I will be fiscally transparent and I want to work on increasing staff in order to allow for more aggressive patrolling to be a deterrent for crime and maintain a high degree of safety and security within our county.

We have approximately 906 square miles and I believe this will help with not only responding to calls of service, but also increase proactive community policing.

I have also been working with Sheriff Banther on updating our body worn cameras to the newest technology, so deputies will not only be more accountable, but also help capture more video evidence when dealing with the public on calls of service, or even protecting deputies from false allegations.

Since 2005, I have been devoted to the safety and well-being of the residents of Kingfisher County; it is this passion that drives me now.

I have three Republican opponents running against me. The first election will be held on June 18, where we will meet on the ballot for the first time for the Primary Election. With your vote, I will continue the same trust and dedication you have seen from the current sheriff over the last five terms.

Respectfully, Jonathan Riedlinger “Community, Integrity, Commitment” This ad is approved and paid for by the “Jonathan Riedlinger for Sheriff Committee”