The Oakland County Sheriff's Office (OCSO) is the largest sheriff's department in the state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. The Sheriff's Office had 859 uniformed officers as of 2017, and has jurisdiction over all of

Oakland County Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a principal county of the Detroit metropolitan area, containing the bulk of Detroit's northern suburbs. Its seat of government is Pontiac, and its largest city is Troy. As of the ...

, with a population of 1.274 million as of the 2020 census. Fifteen communities, with a total population of roughly 343,000, contract with the Sheriff's Office for all police services. The Sheriff's Office also includes a marine patrol and rescue unit, responsible for patrolling 450 lakes across the county. Republican

Michael Bouchard Michael J. Bouchard (born April 12, 1956) is an American law enforcement officer and politician who has served as the sheriff of Oakland County, Michigan since 1999. A member of the Republican Party, Bouchard previously served in the Michigan St ...

has served as the Oakland County Sheriff since 1999.

Headquarters

The Oakland County Sheriff's Office is located at 1200 N Telegraph Road, Building 38 East in

Pontiac Pontiac most often refers to: * Pontiac (Odawa leader) ( – 1769), Native American war chief *Pontiac (automobile), a former General Motors brand Pontiac may also refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality ** Apo ...

, Michigan, the

seat.

Rank structure

Communities served

The Sheriff's Office patrols fifteen municipalities under contract. Each city and township has its own substation. * Addison Township (including the village of

Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English language, English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek wikt:Λέων#Greek, Λ ...

) * Brandon Township (including the village of Ortonville) * Clarkston * Commerce Township * Highland Township * Independence Township * Lyon Township * Oakland Township * Orion Township * Oxford Township * Springfield Township *

Rochester Hills Rochester Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. A northern suburb of Detroit, Rochester Hills is located about north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 76,300. The area was first sett ...

The Addison Township and Brandon Township substations are within the villages of Leonard and Ortonville respectively.

Specialized units

SWAT A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

Traffic Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...

* K-9 * Aviation Unit operating a

Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil The Airbus Helicopters H125, previously the Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil, or Squirrel, is a single-engine light utility helicopter designed and originally manufactured by the French corporation Aérospatiale, and later by Eurocopter, now Air ...

* Alcohol Enforcement Unit * Crash Reconstruction Unit * Marine and Parks Patrol Units * Mounted Division * Honor Guard * Motorcycle Unit * Reserves * Cell Extraction Team

Notable incidents

Oxford High School shooting

The OCSO is the primary law enforcement agency serving Oxford Township, and as such was responsible for the response to the 2021 Oxford High School shooting.

Walled Lake family shooting

On September 11, 2022, in

Walled Lake, Michigan Walled Lake is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northwestern suburb of Detroit, Walled Lake is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 7,246. History The town ...

, a QAnon adherent named Igor Lanis shot his wife, one of his two daughters and the family dog following a heated argument. The wife and dog were killed and the daughter was hospitalized. Oakland County Sheriff's Deputies and members of the Walled Lake Police Department shot and killed Lanis after he opened fire on them. The other daughter, Rebecca Lanis, was out of the house at the time and was not harmed. She told reporters that her father had once been kind but had become rude and unsociable after becoming obsessed with several QAnon-related conspiracy theories following the 2020 presidential election. Lanis posted about her experience to r/QAnonCasualties shortly after the shooting.

Rochester Hills splash park shooting

The OCSO is the primary law enforcement agency serving Rochester Hills, and as such was responsible for the response to the

2024 Rochester Hills shooting On June 15, 2024, nine people, including two children, were shot at the Brooklands Plaza Splash pad in Rochester Hills, Michigan. The shooter, 42-year-old Michael William Nash, fired 36 rounds from a Glock 43 semi automatic handgun at random bef ...

References

{{Authority control Oakland County, Michigan Sheriffs' offices of Michigan 1820 establishments in Michigan Territory