January 13, 2020
By News Director Jared Atha
Beckham County Sheriff Derek Manning has announced that he will stand as a Republican candidate for re-election to the office.
Manning is currently serving his first term in office. He was elected to the position in 2016, and according to a press release, the retired Oklahoma State Trooper is proud of the department’s accomplishments.
Those accomplishments include, among other things, organization and implementation of a detective division staffed with two full-time detectives, including a detective who works almost entirely with child abuse and sexual assault cases. Improvement and expansion of the BKSO vehicle fleet. Implementation of a full-time School Resource Officer program for the Merritt, Sayre and Sweetwater School districts, and the implementation of the county’s only K-9 team, featuring a dual-purpose K-9 available to any agency within or near Beckham County.
Sheriff Manning also stated in the press release that during his tenure, there has been a decrease in negative incidents withing the Beckham County Detention Center and he also noted that the department reduced the general fund budget by twenty percent while under his watch.
