'Start from scratch with trust': Sheriff-elect Susanna Johnson has big plans for protecting community

Snohomish County elects new sheriff

Susanna Johnson beat incumbent Sheriff Adam Fortney after just four years in office.

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. - Snohomish County voters have decided – there's a new sheriff in town.  

Bothell’s Deputy Chief Susanna Johnson beat incumbent Sheriff Adam Fortney after just four years in office.

"They do want public trust, they do want public safety," Johnson said on Election Day after the first count was in.

It was a close race for the top cop spot but Johnson came out on top.

"I am feeling honored," Johnson said.

FOX 13 sat down with her, to see what her plans and priorities are for her first 100 days in office.

"The expectations should be obvious that we need to hold ourselves and me in the first chair, I have to be able to hold myself accountable first, and our staff before we can turn around hold our community accountable," Johnson said. 

Public safety is her number one concern but her vision for Snohomish County is reinstating transparency and public trust.

"If people don't call 911, and they don't trust who's going to come to the door, and I haven't done a good job of saying, trust us, in our response that call to 911 doesn't happen in the first place," Johnson said. "So everything builds from that. Police legitimacy is a big deal."

One of the biggest issues Johnson will have coming in is a staffing shortage, which has also become a nationwide issue. There are more than 100 current openings, the majority of those positions needed at the jail. However, Johnson isn't worried. She says she has some hiring experience from being with the Sheriff's Office for three decades.  

"You'd be surprised about things like morale, even accreditation," Johnson said. "There are some things that we can do administratively to help out our staff, to make us a more sought after place to recruit to."

Retention is also a priority for the sheriff-elect's campaign, which focused on transparency. Specifically, what is being shared with the community including uses of force, collisions and pursuits, information already available that isn’t being shared already.

"There are some impressive dashboards out there that are more interactive, that also can get to the demographics of importance," Johnson said. "Use of force relative to our communities of color; not a place we've gone in the past but a place I want to take us because those are important questions for our community." 

With new sights in mind, it’s hard to ignore the ongoing issues plaguing the community. Spikes in car thefts, more property crimes, and an increase in homicides. While corrections and devices are in the works to curb car thefts, she says she’s bringing back what works. 

"We used to have a partnership with the Marysville Police Department. That partnership ended in the last few years; that's something that I would bring back," Johnson said. "There are many things we can do that will affect each of these crime issues and start moving that needle."

Step after step, Johnson says she’s prepared to take. She says it’s her experience in previous roles as SWAT squad leader and detective that prepared her for this role. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. When it comes to the opioid crisis, Johnson says she'll strengthen relationships with the Office of Neighborhoods and Human Services. 

"There's opportunity to leverage and further those and actually invest deeper because it is evidence-based that we can help those with behavioral health, housing instability and addiction," Johnson said.

There’s also legislative changes she hopes will target the root cause, as law enforcement can now arrest people for using or possessing drugs with the opportunity to go into treatment. 

"We want people to seek treatment," Johnson said. "We also will have opportunities then to work with those people to hopefully go after their dealers."

Prevention is also top of mind as fentanyl has also killed children.

"I'm terrified of this being in our schools. Right, this is something we've never had to deal with before," Johnson said. 

Johnson will be sworn in before taking office in 2024.