Robert Norris (sheriff)

Norris was appointed to the office on January 1, 2021. Due to his predecessor leaving the office early, he was appointed unanimously by the Kootenai County board of commissioners. He started his appointed term as Sheriff on January 1, 2021, and ended on January 10th, 2021. He was officially sworn in as the elected Kootenai County Sheriff on January 11, 2021.

Robert Brian Norris is the 13th Sheriff of Kootenai County, Idaho. He defeated the Independent candidate for sheriff, Mike Bauer, in the 2020 Kootenai County Sheriff race, making him the first Kootenai County Sheriff-elect to not have any prior connection with the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office. Before becoming Sheriff, he was a lieutenant with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

In late-2018, Norris announced he would run for Kootenai County Sheriff. Several potential Republican sheriff candidates, including KCSO Captain Kim Edmondson, Businessman John Grimm, former U.S. prosecutor Scott Jones, former house representative John Green and retired Texas officer Richard Whitehead, all announced their campaigns shortly after one another. As Jones's sheriff campaign failed to gain traction during the summer of 2019, he was pressured to drop out and make the Kootenai County Sheriff race less crowded. On July 11, 2019, Jones officially dropped out of the Sheriff's race and announced the next day that he intended to endorse Norris. John Green, however, which many presumed to be the front runner, never really dropped out of the race. Green had been silent for a couple of months regarding his Sheriff campaign but became officially disqualified after he was convicted in January 2020, for trying to defraud the United States. Green's name never appeared on the ballot. That opened a doorway for Richard Whitehead, who would run on somewhat of a tea party platform, which many former Green supporters found appealing, since, Green did as well. Captain Kim Edmondson and businessman John Grimm joined the race as the moderate Republicans. Many local Kootenai County residents found Edmondson's campaign attractive since she was the only candidate that had law enforcement experience with-in the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office.

Mike Bauer, a former Captain at the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department decided to file his paperwork for Kootenai County Sheriff in the spring of 2019. Many speculated his reason for joining the already crowded race, and why he had filed with a non-partisan affiliation. In an interview Bauer did, when asked why he was running for Sheriff, he said, "I’m not —- impressed with the 4 candidates that are running, especially one that seems to have a —- unverified background.” Voters later realized that Bauer was referring to Norris. Bauer had alleged, among many other things, that Norris was involved in a massive pay-to-play scandal while working at the LASD. Although Norris denied these claims, Bauer's campaign had substantial proof that Norris had donated $600 dollars to Paul Tanaka’s Mayor of Gardena campaign, which was a city Norris never resided in. The LASD pay-to-play scandal alleges that Tanaka worked with former L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca to promote those who had donated to Tanaka’s mayoral campaign. Norris did in fact receive a promotion, however, it was 6 years later after the original donation.

Since Norris's career at the Los Angeles Sheriff's Dept, he's been a volunteer for the Kootenai County Search and Rescue team from mid-2017 to late-2019, and was put on administrative leave due to political interference.