Former Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates died Friday. He was 85.
Gates was sheriff from 1975 to 1999.
Sheriff Don Barnes praised Gates, whose influence on the department continues. “His accomplishments as sheriff are too long to include in one memo,” Barnes said in a statement. “Although it has now been over 24 years since Sheriff Gates retired, much of what our department has in place today are a result of initiatives he began.”
Under his tenure, the Intake Release Center was built and the Theo Lacy Jail was expanded, Barnes said. Gates also “led the way as the first large law enforcement agency to have video cameras installed in patrol units.”
“As a young deputy, I remember how much we all looked up to him and his spirit of excellence,” Barnes said. “We knew he had our backs so long as we did our duty in keeping with the high standards he set. It is the same spirit and standards, which have guided me long after he retired as sheriff.”
Barnes said of Gates’ passion for Western culture that he, “enjoyed riding horses, was often spotted in a cowboy hat and even won his first election as sheriff with an endorsement by Western actor John Wayne.”
Gates “epitomized the best of a law man, he led with integrity, possessed tremendous strength and stood tall in defense of the public he was sworn to serve.”
Gates is survived by his wife, Deedee, son Scott, daughter, Deedee Jo, her husband, Eddie, and grandchildren Joanna, Emma and Nathan, as well as brothers Stillman and Robert and sister, Margaret Lapham.