Meet the Candidates

Meet Eric
Hi! My name is Eric Coffman. I am the current Sheriff of Geary County. My wife, Kristina, and I have been married for over 10 years and have 2 children, Ryan (25) and David (18). I am an avid outdoorsman who enjoys fishing, archery hunting and recently golf.  
I have called Geary County my home since 1991. I moved here from Pottawatomie County after high school when my family purchased a marina at Milford Lake. Prior to law enforcement, I worked for Pepsi Cola Bottling Company in Junction City; this is where my love for Mt. Dew was formed. In 1995, I started my career in law enforcement with the City of Junction City Police Department. 
I served the community as a Junction City Police Officer for a total of 11 years. During this time, I had the opportunity to serve as a Patrol Officer, Drug Operation's Group Detective, Interdiction Detective, SWAT Operator and Assistant Team Leader, Field Training Officer, K-9 handler and Sergeant. 
In 2009, I joined the Geary County Sheriff's Office as a deputy. Between 2009 and 2019, I held supervisor roles for the Patrol Division. In 2013, I was promoted to Patrol Captain and was in charge of supervising day-to-day operations of the Patrol and Investigation divisions, and the special units consisting of the Marine Unit, K-9 Units and the Criminal Interdiction Team. Some additional responsibilities included primary rangemaster duties, Intoxilyzer Custodian, maintaining CPOST training records, verifying payroll for the patrol division, and maintaining department inventory. In 2019, I was promoted to Undersheriff where my leadership responsibilities grew to include not only the Patrol/Investigation's division but the Correction's division. This also included assisting the Sheriff with the budget and day-to-day operations of the entire office. During my time as Undersheriff, I was able to become more familiar with our correction's division where we house anywhere from 80 to 100 inmates on a consistent basis. I also worked closely with our IT Director and assisted in making decisions in maintaining the Sheriff Office facilities. In January of 2024, I was appointed to Sheriff to fill the unexpired term of the previous Sheriff. 
I have spent all 29 years of my Law Enforcement career serving the communities in Geary County. As a law enforcement officer, it has been my duty to safeguard the lives and protect the property of the residents of Geary County through education and enforcement. I feel this can only be achieved by maintaining a high level of integrity and honesty. I also believe in protecting the Constitutional Rights of all individuals who may come in contact with our law enforcement officers.
It is my honor and privilege to serve as your Geary County Sheriff.