PAT WEST FOR SHERIFF - Key Persons

Patrick West was born and raised in Philip, South Dakota. His interest in law enforcement began at a young age after hearing his father, Mike West, talk about his appointment and experiences with the South Dakota Law Enforcement Standards and Training Commission. He remembers his father having conversations with local law enforcement during his time as the Mayor of Philip. This initial impression of law enforcement started a passion with West, and he did his first "ride along" with law enforcement at the age of 13. West graduated from the South Dakota Law Enforcement Academy and started his 25-year law enforcement career in 1992 with the Deadwood Police Department, working as a patrolman. West was named "Deadwood Police Officer of the Year" in 1994 and later served as a deputy with the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office. West has worked for the past 22 years with the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI). He recently retired as a Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) for the DCI and worked in that capacity for that past 16 years. SSA West supervised 12 DCI Special Agents, 4 civilian employees and also supervised the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET) located in Rapid City. UNET is comprised of several law enforcement agencies to include Rapid City Police Detectives, Pennington County Sheriff's Investigators, DCI Special Agents, and Federal Agents. West is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, Class 204. West has more than 2100 hours of continued law enforcement education in crime scene investigations and leadership management. He is a certified Law Enforcement Instructor and trained law enforcement personnel and State Attorneys General from across the United States. He has served on committees that developed lesson criteria taught at the National Forensic Academy (Body Farm) in Knoxville, TN. West served as President of the South Dakota DCI Agents Association from 2009 to 2017. For the past 15 years, West has led, directed and managed major crimes investigations as the DCI Rally Task Force Commander during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. He coordinated with local, state and federal agencies to ensure law enforcement objectives are met during the week-long event. West managed the efforts of obtaining Intelligence on criminal activity involving outlaw motorcycle gangs, major crimes against persons, and drug investigations. This information was then disseminated to law enforcement throughout Sturgis and the Black Hills area. West has successfully investigated several high profile homicide investigations in South Dakota, to include the Chester Poage death penalty homicide case in Lawrence County and the Catherine Tornquist "no-body" homicide case in Fall River County. West has worked closely with successful prosecutors, such as Attorney General Marty Jackley and Lawrence County States Attorney John Fitzgerald. West has investigated and supervised more than 30 officer involved shooting investigations. He helped develop and currently teaches "Officer Involved Shooting Protocol", which is presented to law enforcement personnel statewide. West was honored and received the "South Dakota Law Enforcement Officer of the Year" award for 2015. During his career, West has worked very closely with local, state, and federal law enforcement in cases involving major crimes and large scale drug conspiracies that have crossed jurisdictional lines. He has worked closely with law enforcement, to include Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and Tribal Police, on crimes against persons and drug investigations. West is known for his ability to handle large scale high profile events in a manner that utilizes his law enforcement relationships that he has built throughout his career. West also has a military background, serving in the South Dakota National Guard from 1986 to 1993 with the 153rd Engineers out of Philip and Parkston, SD. West received a Bachelor of Science Degree from Black Hills State University and later married his wife, Cassandra LeCompte from Eagle Butte, SD. West and Cassandra currently live in Piedmont, SD. They have three boys: Justice, a graduate of Sturgis Brown High School, currently attending the United States Naval Academy, Gavin, a Junior at Sturgis Brown High School, Gage, a 3rd grader at Piedmont Valley Elementary and daughter, Tessa, husband, Joey and grandson, Gunner, who live in Colorado. In his free time, West enjoys spending time with his family, hunting, fishing and he volunteers his time coaching grade school football, basketball and little league baseball. West and his wife Cassandra have a successful small business called Dakota Ranch Outfitters. This business provides fully guided deer, turkey and pheasant hunts in Western South Dakota. They have been in business for more than 12 years. West has developed and maintained long term relationships with South Dakota local chiefs, sheriffs, state and federal law enforcement. He understands that this is a very important component in the continued success of any law enforcement entity.