Placer County’s sheriff announces retirement due to medical condition

Placer County’s sheriff this week announced that he plans to retire at the end of this year, setting up an open election for his position this year.

Sheriff Devon Bell, who has served with the department for 30 years, said he was retiring due to a medical condition with his back but that his term as sheriff has been his “greatest honor.”

Bell, a graduate of Loomis’ Del Oro High School, has spent his life and career in Placer County. He began a career in law enforcement at the sheriff’s office in 1992, where he worked in corrections, patrol and the special investigations unit.

He worked across the region, with a stint at the department’s North Lake Tahoe Station and later moving to the South Placer Station where he directed the Community Services Unit which includes schools, youth services, and volunteer programs.

He ascended through the ranks and in 2007 he was named undersheriff, second in command at the department.

In 2017, the Board of Supervisors appointed Bell as sheriff to finish the term of Sheriff Ed Bonner. The next year, Bell was elected as sheriff to serve a four-year term.

“I was raised in this community and being elected to serve as sheriff has been my greatest honor,” he said in a statement. “The men and women of the Placer County Sheriff’s Office are the most outstanding professionals with whom I have had the privilege of serving alongside.”

This story was originally published February 3, 2022 at 1:17 PM.