Leadership through Experience

Serving as Your Sheriff is a Calling and a Great Honor!

Campaigning in 2022 at the Venue at Coosa Landing. Connecting and casting a vision is essential to success! It takes time to build a solid foundation but essential to ensure it is solid to build on. We are continuously striving to be better each day! One Day at a Time Sweet Jesus........!

Reading to our children during Dr. Seuss "Read Across America" in my daughter, Hannah Horton Gunn's classroom. Our Children are Our Future!

I am blessed to have a Wife that is a Lead School Nurse and my two eldest Daughters, as well, work full-time in the Public School System. One is a Counselor and the other is a teacher. I am keenly aware of the drug epidemic and quite frankly, the breakdown in family structure that occurs. That is why it has been a top priority of mine to invest in our future and educate our children on the dangers of bad decisions and the rewards of great decisions and collaborate to build a positive image of law enforcement at a young age. It's so important. We are blessed to have not only a School Resource Officer on every County School Campus, but we have the best. They Care! Keep the Progress Going on May 19, 2026. A vote for Sheriff Horton is a Vote for the Safety of our Schools!

We purchased (2) Tek-84 Body Intercept Scanners

with Funding from the Commission to help reduce contraband in our Detention Center. Working with the County Commission and funding approved with Opiate Abatement Funds, completed Project "Secure Perimeter 360," an initiative we began in 2022 and seen come to fruition in 2025 to add complete secure perimeter to include fencing and awning to one of the State's Largest County Jails. Until this point you could walk up and touch the walls from 9th street or all 3-sides of the Jail. This was a huge accomplishment and has had immediate results. It takes time, but we have to continue the fight! WE have been blessed to increase wages and benefits, adding incentive pay to increase recruit and retention. We are in process of more great changes to make our facility as safe as it can be while providing Opportunity for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorders. So much to do and it's an Honor to Continue to Earn Your Trust and Support. Great Strides have been and are being made every day!

Continuing to Invest in Our Children, They are Our Future!

Kept the Campaign Promise and delivered a School Resource Deputy/Officer to Each County School Campus. Hosted the First DARE Conference in Etowah County in 2020. Annually Host DARE Camp and SLA (Student Leadership Academy) each year. Purchased New Vehicles for each SRO and Hand- Picked Deputies with a Heart to Serve in that capacity. Our Children are Our Future and always will be a priority to me!

re-Elect sheriff jonathon w. horton

Our Achievements

A Record of Proven Leadership

First Term Achievements (2019–2023)

During his first term, Sheriff Horton led one of the most comprehensive periods of

modernization in the history of the Sheriff’s Office. Key accomplishments

included:

 Substantial pay increases for deputies and the largest raise for Detention

Deputies in more than 20 years

 Expansion of School Resource Officer coverage from 9 shared SROs to 15

dedicated SROs and a Supervisor, ensuring every school campus has a

Deputy or Officer present

 Hosting the first D.A.R.E. Conference in Etowah County and certifying

deputies and municipal officers to teach drug prevention programs

 Replacement of more than 40 patrol vehicles and new vehicles for every

SRO

 Major jail renovations, including over 300 new security cameras and 212

replaced door locks

 Implementation of two Tek 84 Body Interceptor Xray systems to reduce

contraband

 Opening of the 112bed Jail Annex and launch of the IMPACT Program for

inmate education, life skills, and job training

 Establishment of the county’s first comprehensive Policy & Procedures

Manual through Lexipol

 Upgraded duty weapons, tasers, body cameras, and outer carrier vests

 Launch of the Sheriff’s Office mobile app and Virtual Academy training

platform

 Increased revenue streams through improved ICE contract rates and

municipal housing agreements

These efforts strengthened safety, accountability, and operational efficiency

across the agency.

Second Term Progress (2023–2027)

Sheriff Horton’s second term has continued this momentum, with 2025 marking

another year of significant advancement:

Enforcement and Operations:

 Over 40 new vehicles with 16 added this past year to improve reliability and

response times

 Acquisition of a DJI Matrice 4T drone with FLIR for advanced public safety

operations

 Addition of a Bell OH58 helicopter with FLIR through the LESO program at

no cost to taxpayers

 Purchase of new ballistic vests and ballistic shields and with new developed

policy receive a 50% rebate from the Federal Ballistic Vest Program.

 Expanded deputy training beyond state requirements

 Launch of the Emergency Services Unit with a triple-certified deputy (APOST,

Paramedic, Fire)

 Renegotiated U.S. Marshals Service contract to increase revenue and

reduce taxpayer burden

 Incentive-pay implemented for Correctional Deputies and

non-law enforcement staff to increase retention and recruitment.

 $300,000 federal grant secured for a new Dive and Marine Boat

 Partnership with the ICE 287(g) Program, deputizing four deputies

 Development of the ACE (Active Criminal Enforcement) Unit with new

patrol trucks and narcotics detecting K9s

 Partnership with Alabama Game and Fish to construct a new public

shooting range on Owl’s Hollow Road — a $2 million plus project supporting

citizen firearms classes, high school archery, law enforcement training, and

more.

Detention Center Improvements:

 Renovation and Updating of Booking and Release Center

 Renegotiated federal housing contract with the U.S. Marshals Service

 Incentive-pay implemented for Correctional Deputies and

non-law enforcement staff

 Completion of the 360-degree secure perimeter project adding exterior

fencing and awning to Detention Center to deter contraband

 New secure employee entrance, locker room, and break area

 Creation of a dedicated Detention Investigator position with Internal Affairs

responsibilities

 Expansion of the IMPACT Program to include female inmates, with four

graduating classes earning multiple certificates

“These accomplishments reflect our commitment to safety, accountability, and

responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources,” Horton said. “We have made real

progress — and there is more work to be done.”

Looking Ahead: A Continued Commitment to Etowah County

Etowah County, though 67th in geographic size, ranks 13th in population and

operates one of the largest county jails in Alabama with 977 beds. It houses

county, state, municipal, and federal inmates and is the only “Direct Supervision”

jail of its kind in the state. “It has taken time to understand and make improvements, and I am proud of the

work that has been done,” Horton said. “But we still have work to do. Our goal is

to provide the safest environment possible while giving those incarcerated an

opportunity for change. We are all in this together, and together we can make a

difference.”

“My heart has always been in serving the people of Etowah County,” Horton

added. “With your support, I will continue strengthening public safety, supporting

our schools, modernizing our operations, and ensuring that our Sheriff’s Office

remains one of the most professional and effective agencies in Alabama. I will

continue to be A Sheriff for ALL with a Servant’s Heart.”

Sheriff Horton is supported by his wife of 35 years, Angie, and their three

daughters — two in public education and one working as a local marketing

manager. “My family and I are deeply invested in this community. Etowah County

is our home, and its future matters to us.”

Sheriff Jonathon W. Horton

“A Sheriff for ALL with a Servant’s Heart”

Our Inmates not only get the opportunity to participate in life changing programs like the IMPACT program, or get substance abuse and mental health services, they get to get out and give back by helping keep our roads clean! We have to invest and give opportunity for those that are incarcerated to reform and be released back as good neighbors.

Experience Matters.....Sheriff Horton has been an APOSTC (Alabama Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission) Certified Police Officer Since 2002. He also served as Chief of Police for two separate municipalities in Etowah County for 7 years consecutively before taking office as Etowah County's 31st Sheriff in 2019. During his time as Chief of Police he completed and received a certificate for 160 Executive Hours of Training from Alabama Association of Chiefs of Police. Since 2019, Sheriff Horton has completed The National Sheriff's Institute Leadership and Jail Management Courses at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA. and has many years and certificates of Law Enforcement Experience.

"I have spent my life in service to others and look forward to continuing to serve, learn, progress and make Etowah County Safer Each Day..." Sheriff Jonathon W. Horton

Sheriff Horton is a Dedicated Family Man that has served his Country as a Veteran of the U.S. Navy and the Alabama Army National Guard. He served his community as Licensed Funeral Director Since 1996 and has Served as the Chief of Police of Glencoe and Rainbow City and has been serving as Sheriff since 2019.