(PCM+)Caring for Kay County:

The Sheriff’s Office

The following article appeared in the print issue of Ponca City Monthly magazine, which includes hyperlocal stories about Ponca City. Get full access to all online articles, videos, and content by becoming a paid subscriber. We offer free and paid subscription plans. Find rack locations to pick up your free print copy here, or subscribe here to get online access plus exclusive content.

“It is the Mission of the Kay County Sheriff’s Office to provide quality law enforcement, court security, transport services, juvenile services and civil services to the citizens and visitors of Kay County. We are dedicated to conducting ourselves in a manner respectful of the trust that has been placed upon us and transparency is of upmost importance. We are dedicated to this mission and to the people we serve to ensure that Kay County is a safe place to live, work and visit.” Kay County Sheriff’s Office Mission Statement

Kay County Sheriff Steve Kelley is in his 26th year in law enforcement and when asked what started his interest in the profession, he credits riding with his “good buddy Ian Ewing,” who served the department in Osage County and then Kay County. Helping people in this manner appealed to him. His friend Deputy Ewing was killed in the line of duty in Kay County in May 1999, but his memory lives on through those he affected, and one of those individuals is Sheriff Kelley.

Sheriff Steve Kelley

Now in his third term of four years as Kay County Sheriff, Kelley began his work in law enforcement at the Blackwell Police Department in 1998. In 2003 he was hired at the Sheriff’s office and promoted to Undersheriff in 2007. The Sheriff’s position is an elected one, and it was in 2016 that Kelley ran against two opponents to first win the position. He was unopposed in the next two elections.