The Wasatch County emergency management and 911 director and a former Oregon sheriff’s deputy and state trooper are vying to become sheriff, and both say their experience makes them the best one for the job. During his 25 years with the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office, Jeremy Hales served as a patrol officer, a school resources officer and a Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) instructor before assuming his current role. He has also worked as a coordinator for the crisis intervention team, which provides mental health training to law enforcement officers. “I bring the experience of 25 years of enforcing the laws of the state of Utah,” Hales said. “The deputies get the highest level of training that they need to provide the best safety that they can.” In addition to his two decades working in law enforcement as a deputy and trooper, Oregon native Paul Moore served in the U.S. Corps and worked for a Fortune 200 company. Moore ran for sheriff in 2024 in Clackamas County, Oregon, and lost in the primary. The election was nonpartisan. “I can run a budget,” Moore said. “I understand human resources. I can recruit and hire. I could also do training because I’ve done that in the military, law enforcement and the corporate world. I’ve got all those experiences to draw from.” During the Oregon campaign, Moore was invited to speak at a one-day sheriff’s conference in Las Vegas and he connected with a group from Wasatch County, he said. He kept in touch with several people who encouraged him to move there to run for sheriff after his primary loss, he said. Moore has lived in Wasatch County for about two years. Whoever wins the election on Nov. 3 — Hales, a Republican, or Moore, an unaffiliated candidate who has served as a Republican precinct chair in Texas — will replace incumbent Sheriff Jared Rigby, who was defeated in the primary. Rigby was indicted on Oct. 7 by a grand jury on obstruction of justice and making a written false statement charges. Jeremy Hales Hales said if he wins, he will bring accountability to the Sheriff’s Office and apply the highest levels of integrity through his leadership. It’s important that citizens have a voice and he will protect their constitutional rights, he said. “We’re going to have the opportunity to listen and hear and take the information that we’re given and use it within our agency to better serve the citizens of Wasatch County,” he said. In addition, Hales wants good relationships with police departments and sheriff’s offices surrounding Wasatch County, as well as other elected and appointed officials in the cities and towns, and wants to hold accountability discussions with them. His plan is to implement an annual Sheriff’s Public Accountability Report that includes use-of-force summaries, staffing metrics, response times, budget use and equipment investments. Hales said he would work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement only when the agency sends a detainer, which is a request asking a jail or other correctional facility to hold an immigrant who is in the country illegally until ICE can take custody of the person. It is not the responsibility of the Sheriff’s Office to enforce ICE rules outside of the facility, he said. In the case of Flock Safety cameras, which are automated license plate readers powered by artificial intelligence, Hales wants to pause their use pending further direction from Utah Legislature leaders in the next session. And he wants the Sheriff’s Office to be ready for the Winter Olympics, which Utah will host in 2034.  “We want to be forward-thinking,” Hales said. “I know that my experience and knowledge that I have will be very helpful in that.” Paul Moore Moore said the erosion of public trust and confidence in the sheriff because of recent events, including the charge against Rigby, is a top issue. He said everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but even the perception of malfeasance or corruption is a problem. “As sheriff, I need to get in there and change the perception,” Moore said.  He also stresses the importance of transparency and accountability to the public.  “You have to surround yourself with leaders in your office that will hold you accountable,” Moore said. “And you have to require that they speak up and speak out if they see anything that gives rise to any perception of impropriety. And if they don’t speak up, they’re just as guilty as anybody that may have engaged in that kind of behavior.” ICE agents have the authority to make arrests, but he would ensure they check with the sheriff to confirm they are following the county policies, he said.  Moore said Flock cameras have legitimate law-enforcement purposes, but he opposes them because it is inappropriate for the government to track people, hoping to find a few who have done something illegal. He’s a proponent of the human touch in law enforcement, he said. “We better be very careful about going down that slippery slope of allowing technology to do our law enforcement for us,” Moore said. The post Wasatch County sheriff candidates highlight their qualifications for the job appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less