After reopening the search for a director of Peace Officer Standards and Training, better known as “POST,” the POST Council recommended two new nominees last week.
The nominees are Salt Lake City Police Captain Yvette Zayas and former West Jordan Police Deputy Chief Travis Rees.
Wasatch County Sheriff Jared Rigby planned to take that job at the start of the new year after POST publicly announced him as the next director.
However, Rigby rescinded the letter of resignation he sent to the Wasatch County Council in early January. Then the POST Council extended Rigby’s background review after media reports questioned tactics he used during officer training. The council permanently withdrew him from consideration January 31.
Rigby said now, he’s focused on the sheriff’s office’s five-year plan, safety in schools and the impacts of heavy snow and potential flooding concerns as a result.
Park City Police Chief Wade Carpenter serves as the chairman of the POST Council.
In early February, Carpenter issued a joint statement from POST Council members saying the decision not to move forward with Rigby “focused on issues associated with the process, not any concerns over the qualifications or suitability” of the sheriff.
After the POST Council nominated new candidates last week, Wasatch County Manager Dustin Grabau said Rigby is expected to serve his current term as Sheriff after being reelected last November. Grabau told KPCW, “Sheriff Rigby never fully resigned from his office and I think the council would agree that we are glad to still have him heading our Sheriff’s Office.”
Information officer Hillary Koellner, who works for the Department of Public Safety which oversees POST, said next in the process to hire a new POST director, DPS Commissioner Jess Anderson will interview Zayas and Rees. After that, they’ll undergo background reviews. Finally, DPS will name one of them as the next director, pending the approval of Governor Spencer Cox.
