Orange County Honors OC Sheriff Who Died Fighting Breast Cancer

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — In the United States, about one in eight women will develop breast cancer over the course of her lifetime, according to statistics released by Breastcancer.org this year. In honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Orange County Sheriff's Department is remembering former sheriff and local mentor Sandra Hutchens, who battled breast cancer while she served as Sheriff before the disease overcame her in January.

Hutchens, who was a Dana Point resident, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 — four years after she was appointed sheriff by the Orange County Board of Supervisors. While facing breast cancer, Hutchens continued to serve the OC Sheriff's Department until she retired in 2019. According to her peers in the department, she was not only a valiant sheriff — but a mentor to those in the Orange County community.

Read more: 'Mentor And A Friend:' Late OC Sheriff Sandra Hutchens Remembered

Her battle against the disease was successful for eight years, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said in a statement released after her death earlier this year.

"She took office at a difficult time...The public's trust had been broken by the previous sheriff. Upon taking office, she immediately took action to put one of the nation's largest law enforcement agencies back on track," Barnes wrote in his statement. "She was a leader whose ethics matched the culture of the men and women of this department. She restored our pride, gave us back our dignity, and rebuilt trust with the people we serve. She kept her oath, kept her promises, and ended her time in office leaving this agency better than when she started."

In a video posted by the Orange County Sheriff's Department, Jim Allen, a member of the OC Sheriff's Board Advisory Council, recalled his first time meeting Hutchens. Allen said the first time he met Hutchens was when she was appointed sheriff in 2008.

"When [Hutchens] came to me and we were shaking hands, I said, 'congrats Sheriff,'" Allen said in the video. "Then I leaned toward her, and in my sparkling dialogue said in a quiet voice: 'Do you have any idea what a giant chunk you just bit off?'"

"Still gripping my hand, she looked me in the eyes and said: 'You know, I'll let you know as soon as my feet touch the ground.'"