Officer Spotlight – SCOTT STEINLE

Lieutenant Scott Steinle is a 23-year veteran of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and is currently assigned to the Theo Lacy Facility as the Special Projects Lieutenant. He began his Law Enforcement career in 2000 as a Deputy Sheriff assigned to Custody Operations at the Theo Lacy Facility. As a Deputy Sheriff, he worked numerous positions including, Bailiff in Court Operations, Recruiting Deputy assigned to Professional Standards Division, Patrol Deputy assigned to North Operations covering the unincorporated areas of North Orange County, Tactical Officer at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Regional Training Academy and Field Training Officer for the City of Yorba Linda. 

In 2015, Lieutenant Steinle was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and was assigned to the Intake and Release Center as the Operations Supervisor overseeing the booking and release of all subjects through the Orange County Jail System. He also worked as the Operations Sergeant at the Theo Lacy Facility, which is the largest jail in Orange County. In 2018, he was transferred to South Operations and was assigned to the cities of Aliso Viejo, Laguna Hills and Laguna Woods as a Patrol Sergeant. As a Sergeant assigned to supervise three contract cities, this required Lieutenant Steinle to be very organized, prepared, and to be an effective communicator with the deputies he supervised. In 2021, he was given the opportunity to be the Admirative Sergeant for the City of Laguna Hills and oversaw the scheduling, overtime budgeting, training, and special assignment deputies within the city. In 2022, Lieutenant Steinle became the Public Information Officer (PIO) for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. In this position, he was responsible for the messaging of the department, was the direct contact for all media outlets, and covered the Active Shooting incident at the Genevia Church in the City of Laguna Woods as his first press conference.

In February of 2023, Lieutenant Steinle was promoted to Lieutenant and served at the Theo Lacy Facility as a Watch Commander managing a facility that has a capacity of over 3000 beds and a staff of 400 sworn and  non-sworn personnel.  

Lieutenant Steinle received the Medal for Lifesaving for the use of an impromptu tourniquet where a victim had his leg amputated during a motorcycle accident in a rural area of Orange County and survived. He also received the Medal for Lifesaving for performing CPR on a recent heart surgery victim who was found unresponsive along a walking trail. Lastly, he received the Medal for Courage and Medal for Lifesaving for cutting a hole in a chain link fence on an overpass. The victim had walked out on a ledge and was wanting to jump. Swift actions by Patrol Deputies secured the victims clothing to the fence. Lieutenant Steinle cut through the fence and went outside the fence line to grab the victim and bring her back inside where she was safe.  

Lieutenant Steinle earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Vanguard University. He is a graduate of the Sherman Block Leadership Institute and most recently, the Safe Communities Institute Public Safety Leadership Program. Mentorship and equipping others with the skills and information that he has gained throughout his career are very important to him. He is a part-time instructor in Tactical Casualty Care, and also regularly coaches all types of athletics for Orange County youth.

Lieutenant Steinle is extremely grateful for his career in Law Enforcement. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has provided him many opportunities to develop, learn and grow into not only being an effective manager but to be a better person and member of society. He is most proud of his family, his wife of 22 years and his three amazing children.