About Me
Hi! For those who do not know me yet, my name is Christopher (Chris) Norton, and it would be my honor to serve as your next Sheriff of Windsor County!
During my almost three decades of service, I have gained experience in all aspects of criminal investigations, criminal case review and approval, patrol and detail scheduling, grant writing, grant management, budgeting, invoicing, policy writing, policy review, and public speaking. I have attended supervisory training on Front-Line Leadership, Organizational Risk Management, Management of Community Policing Programs, FBI’s Public Information Officer Training, and FBI-ILEEDA’s Managing & Conducting Internal Affairs Investigations. I have also been a certified Field Training Officer since 2003 and have trained dozens of new police officers and deputy sheriffs. As your Sheriff, I, Chris Norton, will use this experience to lead and empower all members of the Sheriff's Department to provide stable, ethically sound, community-responsive, and fiscally responsible service to the citizens of Windsor County, setting the table for slow and steady future growth, with an eye on regionalization.
I have been employed by the Windham County Sheriff’s Office for the last 12 years and am a member of the department’s command staff. I have held the positions of Regional Highway Safety Coordinator, County Patrol Division Supervisor, and Vernon Patrol Division Supervisor. As collateral duties, I conduct departmental internal investigations to the standards set forth by the Vermont Criminal Justice Council and state statute, serve as the department training officer, the department's public information officer, the department's field training supervisor, and am a member of both the Windham Regional Career Center Advisory Board (RAB) and the River Valley Technical Center Criminal Justice Advisory Committee.
During my time as Highway Safety Coordinator, I worked with members of the Windham County Highway Safety Task Force and the State Highway Safety Office to schedule events around the county and state in support of traffic safety initiatives. I was also in charge of writing and managing grants that brought in nearly half a million dollars each year to Task Force members for highway safety education and enforcement initiatives and equipment. Of particular note is the Enhanced Drivers Safety Program, which has provided supplemental driver’s training to area teens through our partnership with local school districts (ETDSP) and more recently, our collaboration with several state and local service agencies providing driver’s training to the legal immigrant and refugee communities.
I grew up in Ludlow, attending Ludlow Elementary School and Black River High School. During high school, I started my journey in public safety as a cadet with the Ludlow Police Department.
Following high school, I served three years in the United States Army, stationed at Fort Campbell, KY. After being honorably discharged from the Army in September of 1996, I moved back to Ludlow for a short time where I worked as a Part-Time Officer and Dispatcher with the Ludlow Police Department, a Part-Time Deputy with the Windsor County Sheriff's Department, and ECA for the Ludlow Ambulance Service while I explored where life would take me next.
In September of 1997, I moved to Kansas (It’s possible I was deposited there by a tornado…) and became a Patrol Officer with the City of Iola Police Department. I worked the midnight shift for the next five years. During that time, I became involved in narcotic and clandestine lab investigations as well as in the detection of alcohol and drug-impaired drivers. In 2001, I became the first municipal officer in Southeast Kansas to get certified as a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE).
In November of 2002, I returned to Vermont, joining the Springfield Police Department as a Patrol Officer. I received a promotion to the rank of Corporal in 2004 where I remained until joining the Windham County Sheriff's Office in March of 2014.
I currently reside in Springfield with my wife Kim and daughter Lyndsee. When not working (and/or attending our daughter’s many school, social, and sports activities), we love spending our time camping, fishing, and adventuring to places near and far!