The sheriff of Colorado’s Jackson County was recalled by voters on Tuesday, plunging law enforcement in the rural county east of Steamboat Springs into uncertainty just as one of the biggest events of the year looms this weekend.
The sheriff abruptly closed the office until next week when his replacement is scheduled to be sworn in. That prompted concerns even among the recall organizers about how the community will handle a large annual rodeo event this weekend.
The election was a decisive rebuke of Sheriff Jarrod Poley — 66 percent of voters in the county of 1,300 residents decided to recall the sheriff and replace him with a former deputy in the agency. A sign posted at the sheriff’s office this morning said the office would be closed to the public until next Thursday. That’s when former undersheriff Dusty Weber takes over.
The sheriff was not at the office when CPR News called on Wednesday. A representative at the office said they would forward the message to Poley, but he has not yet responded.
A Jackson County Commissioner said he could not comment because he was still unsure exactly what’s going on, but he added that he heard the office had dispatched a deputy to an emergency call since the recall was approved, indicating that law enforcement is continuing.
The governor's office said state resources will be available in case Jackson County needs them during the transition to a new sheriff.
“The Department of Public Safety has been in contact with Jackson County and the Department and Colorado State Patrol and have offered to assist Jackson County," a statement from Gov. Jared Polis's office said. "We understand the Jackson County undersheriff and deputies are still active. The office is responding to emergency calls and community members should continue to call in case of emergency. As is outlined in Colorado law, the undersheriff acts as the sheriff in any absence.”
The recall petition was circulated after the sheriff arrested the principal of the local high school after the principal refused to divulge information to the sheriff about a student at the school, according to organizers of the recall effort. The principal was handcuffed in front of students and staff.
“In handcuffs, during the school day, it was traumatic, it was horrible,” said Shay Calstrom, a former teacher at the school, who helped to gather signatures for the recall.
“Sheriff Poley has demonstrated a pattern of disregard for North Park School District student and staff safety,” reads the recall petition, which also outlined other issues, including not participating in school safety meetings.
Poley wrote in an “incumbent statement” that accompanies the recall petition: “The recent arrest of the school principal was pursuant to a probable cause warrant signed by a District Court judge for failure to immediately report assault as mandated by law. School has a pattern of failures to protect students’ safety and failure to report.”
And he added that the school has “hindered the Sheriff’s Office in all investigations.”
It’s the second attempt to recall Sheriff Poley. The first, in 2023, failed to gain enough signatures and the recall petition was never sent to the clerk’s office.
But now, with the success of this second effort, the concern is that this weekend is when the county hosts the Never Summer Rodeo.
“As a resident, am I concerned in this particular weekend, that the sheriff who lost his election has decided to leave? Yes,” said Calstrom, who is worried about a lack of law enforcement leadership on the busiest weekend of the year in the town of Walden, the county seat. “There's a hundred questions you could ask about what it means when you can't reach this person?”
In a Facebook post, the sheriff’s office reassured residents that law enforcement officers remain available.
“As we complete the transition of the JCSO, we will be still answering calls and assisting in emergency situations,” the post reads. “At this time we will not be open for administrative walk ins. If you have any questions please feel free to call the office.”
Never Summer, called “The Biggest Little Rodeo in Colorado,” features all the standard rodeo events, but also serves as kind of a homecoming for Walden, with class reunions and the “Pioneer Reunion” all part of the weekend festivities.
The event, starting Friday at the North Park Fairgrounds with a junior rodeo at noon, will be the 83rd edition.
