Wasatch County sheriff candidates outlined their views on the future of the department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, fiscal responsibility and investigations into the Sheriff’s Office at a candidate forum on Wednesday.
KPCW and The Wasatch Record co-hosted the forum at the Wasatch County Senior Center. Wasatch County Emergency Management Director Jeremy Hales and incumbent Sheriff Jared Rigby, both Republicans, participated.
Summit County Sheriff’s Office Detective Eric Mainord withdrew from the race on Wednesday morning. Mainord said he was the “best candidate for the job,” but he asserted further participation would “split the vote” from whom he assumes to be leading the race — Hales and Rigby.
Mainord will still appear on the primary ballot in June, though no votes cast for him will be counted.
Jeremy Hales
Hales said he is running for sheriff because he “wants to bring change.”
“I want to bring a new voice and a new opinion that people will understand,” Hales said, adding that he hopes to support people’s constitutional rights.
As Wasatch County rapidly grows, Hales said his focus is on building and maintaining relationships between the Sheriff’s Office, the public and other law enforcement agencies.
“It’s important that we (have) the ability to make those connections that build lasting relationships, that we … empower our deputies to do the work that they’re asked to do,” Hales said. “They’re the ones that are making the difference.”
Hales also said he feels the Sheriff’s Office has a “duty” to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He said ICE has a role in law enforcement that cannot be ignored.
“I believe in legal immigration, but I don’t believe in allowing folks to come in and go to our schools and take children out to scare our community. That is not a way that we’re going to handle business,” Hales said. “If I’m elected as your sheriff, we’re going to do things the right way.”
Hales said that means working with ICE, but also standing up for the rights of citizens “no matter what.”
“We will have a say in what happens. We need to work with them. We need to be open and transparent,” Hales said.
Hales also addressed multiple investigations into the Sheriff’s Office, saying they are “concerning.” He said as sheriff, he would work to foster public trust and transparent communication.
One step forward, Hales said, is to hire someone to provide information to the public and solicit questions from the community.
“We want you to come in, we want to hear your questions, and we’re going to answer them. I’m going to be open. I’m not here to hide anything from you,” Hales said.
If any mistakes were made, Hales said he would be the first to inform the community.
“I’m not going to stand back and let investigations come out there and keep giving our Sheriff’s Office a bad name,” Hales said.
When it comes to public trust and cooperation among law enforcement agencies across the Wasatch Back, Hales said that’s a job he has already been working toward as the emergency management director for the Sheriff’s Office.
“I already have a lot of those relationships in place … I work with them on a sometimes monthly, sometimes weekly basis, so I do not need to stand back and wait for that to happen,” Hales said.
When asked if there were any decisions he made in his law enforcement career he would do differently, Hales said he wants to stray away from “black and white” thinking. There is a gray area, he said, and multiple ways of dealing with one problem.
“We need to take time to listen and understand and be willing to hear everybody’s voice, and it’s a work in progress, and we’ll do it every day,” Hales said.
Though he said he has not been privy to all fiscal matters at the county level and within the Sheriff’s Office, Hales said he will work to promote a balanced budget. He said it’s important to be aware of how taxpayer dollars are spent.
For Hales, that includes auditing overtime and ensuring officers are not working “more hours than they need to.” He added that retaining deputies is crucial.
“I want to bring that gravitational pull back. I want people to come back to this office and be here. I want them to stay here,” Hales said.
On the matter of artificial intelligence, Hales said it’s a tool that’s “ever growing” and one that he is utilizing in his work today for translation. He said, however, that “human interaction” is critical when writing police reports and conducting law enforcement activities.
Hales said planning for the future is critical, especially with the 2034 Olympics approaching.
“We need to make sure that we’re ready to take care of all of the growth,” Hales said. “We need to make plans today.”
Hales answered questions from the audience about substance abuse, caring for youth, relationships with the Wasatch County Attorney’s Office, as well as promotion and hiring.
On the latter, Hales said seeking out candidates requires background checks and finding the “best candidate” who shares the mission of the Sheriff’s Office. He said working with the Sheriff’s Office Merit Commission is a worthwhile endeavor.
Having a relationship with the County Attorney’s Office is “extremely important,” Hales said.
“When we go to refer somebody for charges, we need to make sure that we’re articulating by statute what we’re doing,” Hales said.
Hales said he has “learned a lot” in his 25 years working in law enforcement.
“I’ve had the opportunity to answer calls of service, I’ve had the opportunity to have the stewardship to watch over your children as a school resource officer,” Hales said. “My commitment is simple: I’m going to support our deputies. I’m going to support each and every one of you.”
Hales pledged to strengthen partnerships and keep Wasatch County “one of the safest places in the United States.”
Jared Rigby
Rigby is running for a third term as Wasatch County sheriff. He started in 2001 as a corrections officer before transitioning to patrol and moving on in his career. He said he has been able to accomplish “many changes” in the Sheriff’s Office in his tenure while putting together a “strong team.”
On rapid growth, Rigby said all neighborhoods in Wasatch County are unique and that it’s important for the Sheriff’s Office to change alongside the county. He stressed the importance of community outreach and inclusion of the Latino community in Wasatch County.
When it comes to ICE involvement in law enforcement in Wasatch County, Rigby said it’s a “serious issue.”
“It’s not exaggerated. There’s no embellishment to it. In the last month, there have been ICE agents here several times, and they have done a number of concerning things,” Rigby said. “They don’t call us at the Sheriff’s Office to let us know that they’re going to be in the area.”
Rigby said it has been challenging to work with the federal agency. He said instances where ICE has conducted traffic stops are something the Sheriff’s Office is “very concerned about.”
“I’ve met with many groups and many individuals in the last about four weeks who are very concerned about this. Our role is to ensure that the constitutional rights of individuals are followed and that we don’t violate them. It’s the sheriff’s job,” Rigby said. “But if they don’t communicate with us what’s going on, that’s going to be a problem.”
Rigby said he has “shown up at the scenes” and looked at ICE paperwork to ensure there are no violations of the law.
On public trust, Rigby addressed prior investigations into the Sheriff’s Office. Rigby himself has been called out in such investigations, including an ongoing investigation into his actions by the Summit County Attorney’s Office.
“There have been five allegations and five investigations in the last year and a half, having to do with me or our office,” Rigby said. “Four out of the five, there have been determinations, findings that there is no criminal conduct, there is no policy violations, there’s no wrongdoing, there’s no serious misconduct.”
Rigby said these investigations are “politically motivated.”
“I feel grateful as an office and as sheriff to have the truth out there about four of the five,” Rigby said.
In the future, Rigby said he plans to promote quality relationships between the Sheriff’s Office and the public, along with other law enforcement agencies across the Wasatch Back.
“When it comes to agreements, we have more agreements now than we had before I started as sheriff in 2018,” Rigby said.
He said that includes working with the U.S. Forest Service and the Wasatch Back Major Crimes task force. He added that relationships with other law enforcement agencies, such as Summit County’s, have been “strengthened.”
Rigby said that, in his career, he has not been “infallible.”
“There are a number of things that I would like to redo. That is the philosophy in our office, (that) if something goes wrong and you mess up, then you fess up,” Rigby said. “When it comes to individuals who are working to improve themselves, there can still be disciplinary action.”
When it came to fiscal responsibility, Rigby detailed the 20-year master plan that will upgrade the jail, operations and technology in the Sheriff’s Office.
“We’ve got to know with all of the growth and the development that’s going on. What do we need to be prepared for?” Rigby said. “The funds for that have to come from the General Fund. That’s not a decision I make; that’s a decision that the council makes.”
Rigby also said that “so much can happen” when it comes to AI use with law enforcement and corrections.
“We need to think broadly, the application of it … Every application is different, when we go into the hospital or any kind of facility where people are being taken care of, there are laws that regulate how we work through that and they’re not always easy,” Rigby said. “This is the area, I’m here to tell you, that we’ve got to be careful in.”
Rigby also discussed the importance of focusing on mental health in law enforcement and across Wasatch County.
“We’ve been training our deputies and our dispatchers so that they can be better informed, better educated, better prepared to know how to deal with different diagnoses of mental health issues. It’s a hard and complicated job, and our people are doing an awesome job with it,” Rigby said.
He suggested that there is a need to care for veterans. Rigby said a specific “veterans court” would be helpful in Wasatch County.
On overtime and retention in the Sheriff’s Office, Rigby said the law enforcement agency always needs to “be careful” to audit and make sure there is approval for overtime.
“Because, why? It’s the taxpayer’s money,” Rigby said.
He said the Sheriff’s Office is almost fully staffed but that, when it comes to overtime, there’s sometimes nothing to do but approve it.
“The alternative is the dispatcher needs to go home because their hours are up, but they’re in the middle of a call,” Rigby said. “Who wants that?”
Rigby said that, currently, the biggest strength in the Sheriff’s Office is the deputies, command staff and employees. He said citizen safety is most important and training is one of the highest priorities of the Sheriff’s Office.
Rigby also answered audience questions and stressed the importance of working with the County Attorney’s Office.
“Ultimately, we all have to have a respect for the rule of law and for the justice system,” Rigby said. “It takes talking to the county attorney at any time of the day or night about what’s coming up so that we both are aware of it, and it also takes patience on all of our parts.”
Hiring, Rigby said, is “one of the most important decisions” that the Sheriff’s Office can make.
“These individuals are going to be those that have first contact with our community, and so if they don’t have people skills, that’s going to be a problem,” Rigby said.
He said it’s important to watch out for candidates who are “badge heavy” and who “have an ego.” Rigby also said physical fitness is key because “they’ve got to be able to protect themselves and others and the public.”
In his closing remarks, Rigby said that his family is most important to him but that protecting the public is “close behind that.”
“I’m grateful to have raised our children here in Wasatch County and now our grandchildren. I’m grateful for those who came before me in helping me to learn,” Rigby said. “I’m grateful for each of those opportunities.”
Primary election
Ballots for the primary election will be mailed on June 2. The Republican primary election will be held on June 23. Rigby, Hales and Mainord will all appear on the ballot, though no votes cast for Mainord will be counted.
The winner of the primary election will go on in November to face unaffiliated candidate Paul Moore, who recently became a candidate for sheriff.