Most people vote for their sheriff without knowing much about who they actually are. Here’s the story behind the person asking for your vote.
He Didn’t Grow Up Expecting Any of This
Jared grew up one of eight kids — six brothers, one sister — on a family farm in Charleston, right here in Wasatch County. He learned to work hard before he ever thought about a career. Early mornings, livestock, the kind of upbringing where you don’t wait for someone else to handle things.
He enjoyed hunting, being in the mountains, knowing the land. The same canyons and ridgelines he’d eventually be responsible for protecting.
Nobody handed him anything. That’s still true today.
A Setback That Shaped Him
When Jared was around 20, he had serious health concerns that forced him to come home early from his mission. He needed double knee surgery and spent months in a wheelchair learning to walk again.
Most people would have let that slow them down permanently. Jared used it as a baseline.
When he got to the police academy, he didn’t just pass. He earned top awards. He went on to complete the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia — one of the most selective law enforcement leadership programs in the country, where less than 1% of officers are ever accepted. He completed that too. With distinction.
The pattern was set early: setbacks don’t stop him. They just change the timeline.
He Didn’t Just Study Law Enforcement. He Studied the Law.
After earning his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from BYU, Jared went on to complete both a Juris Doctorate and a Master of Public Administration at the University of North Dakota.
A law degree. A graduate degree in public administration. He passed the Utah Bar, clerked for three judges in North Dakota and Utah, and worked for the U.S. Air Force Area Defense Counsel.
That background matters more than most people realize. Every day the sheriff’s office makes decisions that touch constitutional rights, criminal procedure, and civil liability. Having a sheriff who understands those boundaries from the inside — not just as an officer but as a trained attorney — changes the quality of those decisions.
It’s also why, when Jared says he stood up for a suspect’s constitutional rights against pressure from other officers, he knew exactly what he was talking about.
24 Years Spent Right Here
Jared didn’t come to Wasatch County from somewhere else to run for office. He built his entire career here.
He worked investigations at both the Summit County Sheriff’s Office and the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office — years of experience that some inside the office tried to overlook because his formal titles at Wasatch County didn’t include the word “detective.” The experience was real. The results spoke for themselves.
He served as Chief Deputy under Sheriff Todd Bonner before running for sheriff in 2018. When he ran, he had the full endorsement of every living former sheriff of Wasatch County.
Trusted By Sheriffs Across the Region
This is the part most Wasatch County residents don’t know.
Jared currently serves as 1st Vice President of the Utah Sheriffs’ Association — representing sheriffs from every county in the state. He also serves as Chairman of the Western States Sheriffs’ Association — a leadership role that puts him at the table with sheriffs from across the entire western United States.
These aren’t honorary titles. They represent the trust of the people who understand this job better than anyone — other sheriffs.
When Wasatch County needs resources, partnerships, or support from agencies across the state and region, they have a sheriff with relationships at every level.
Why He’s Still Here
Jared originally planned to serve 20 years, get his retirement, and move on. He had other things he wanted to do — teaching, humanitarian work, other ways to serve.
But people in the community and inside the office asked him to stay. To finish what he started. To keep pushing the progress forward.
That’s the only reason he’s running again. Not ambition. Not politics. Because the people around him asked him to, and because this county — the one he grew up in, the one his kids go to school in — is worth staying for.
Sheriff Jared Rigby is running for re-election as Wasatch County Sheriff. Learn more at sheriffjaredrigby.org.
