Mark Lamb (sheriff)

Mark Lamb is an American sheriff. He was elected Sheriff of Pinal County, Arizona in 2017.

Mark Lamb
24th Sheriff of Pinal County
In office
January 1, 2017 – Present
Preceded byPaul Babeu
Personal details
BornHilo, Hawaii, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Janel Lamb

Early Life and Education

Lamb was born in Hilo, Hawaii. Lamb also spent time living in the Philippines and Panama. Lamb graduated from Chandler High School in Chandler, Arizona. Lamb is fluent in Spanish, having learned it while on a mission through his church in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[1]

Career

Lamb worked for the police department of the Salt River Pima–Maricopa Indian Community for 6 years. There he received the Rookie of the Year, Officer of the Year and Detective of the Year, and Award of Excellence from the Arizona Gang Investigators Association.[1]

In 2012, he joined the Pinal County Sheriff's Office.

In 2017, Lamb was elected to succeed Paul Babeu as Pinal County Sheriff. Lamb came into the department amidst a hiring freeze and a budget shortfall of up to $2 million.[2] Lamb ran his first campaign on the promise to fix the department's budget and staffing shortages.[3] He also set a goal to boost morale within the department and increase employee pay.[4]

Lamb considers himself a constitutional conservative.[5]

Lamb and the Pinal County Sheriff's Office have had reoccurring appearances on A&E's show Live PD.[6] He believes participation in these types of shows helps to "[restore] the humanity to law enforcement." [7]

In November 2019, Lamb called for increased security along the Mexico–United States border to combat drug cartels from harming U.S. National Parks.[8]

In May 2020, Lamb stated he would not enforce a stay-at-home order during the COVID-19 pandemic in Arizona on the basis that he believed it was unconstitutional. In June 2020, he tested positive for COVID-19 a week before his scheduled appearance at the White House for Donald Trump's signing of executive order 139256.[9]

In July 2020, Sheriff Lamb announced the formation of the PCSO Citizens Posse.[10] Similar to a citizens academy, the Citizens Posse is four-hour training session in which participants are taught home safety, constitutional law, search and seizure, the use of force and other police tactics. Applicants must pass a minimal background check. Graduates can also be called to assist deputies in enforcing the law during major incidents.[11] Since the program began, more than 3,000 people have applied.[12]

In 2018, Lamb established the American Sheriff Foundation, a charity.[13] In August 2020, the Arizona Republic reported that the charity had raised more than $50,000 but left at least $18,000 unaccounted for and filed largely blank tax filings.[13]

Lamb ran unopposed for re-election in November 2020 after successfully suing to remove his competition from the ballot.[9]

References
  1. Lueck, Bea (March 15, 2017). "THE ROX INTERVIEW: SHERIFF MARK LAMB". Golden Corridor Living Magazine.
  2. Dale, Mariana (2017-03-30). "Pinal County Sheriff Must Balance Demands Of Rural, Growing Community". Fronteras. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  3. Writer, KELLY FISHER Staff. "Lamb easily wins Pinal sheriff's race". PinalCentral.com. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  4. Hendrickson, Raquel (2016-11-11). "Lamb ready to transition into Pinal's new sheriff". InMaricopa. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  5. "Sheriff Mark Lamb - Pinal County". www.pinalcountyaz.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  6. Dillingham, Jared (October 25, 2019). "Pinal County sheriff balances TV and law enforcement duties". AZFamily. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  7. "Compassionate Approach Makes Sense to Tough-Minded Sheriff". Psychiatry & Behavioral Health Learning Network. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  8. Musto, Julia (2019-11-14). "Sheriff calls for tougher border security to stop Mexico cartels poisoning US national parks". Fox News. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  9. Zaveri, Mihir (2020-06-18). "A Sheriff Who Defied Arizona's Lockdown Is Infected With the Coronavirus". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
  10. Alana Minkler (July 31, 2020). "Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb discusses citizen posse in response to protests". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved August 6, 2020. Pinal County already has a patrol posse that is armed and assists deputies by booking people in jail. Other police agencies have a similar citizen's academy.
  11. Baker, David. "Pinal County Sheriff's Office starting new volunteer posse group". AZFamily. Retrieved 2020-11-16.
  12. "SHERIFF LAUNCHES 'CITIZENS POSSE,' GETS 3,000 APPLICATIONS". Golden Corridor Living Magazine. September 24, 2020.
  13. Oxford, Andrew. "Charity founded by Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb has $18,000 in unaccounted spending". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
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