Montezuma County Undersheriff Tyson Cox has announced his candidacy for sheriff, drawing on 22 years of experience with the sheriff’s office and emphasizing servant leadership, building relationships and a love of community in his bid.
Cox relocated to Cortez from Rapid City, South Dakota, in 2003 and began his law enforcement career at the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office in community corrections, then a division of the detention center. From there, he graduated from the police academy and worked as a patrol deputy, patrol sergeant and detective, where he spent most of his tenure investigating homicides, child sex assaults and financial crimes. In 2015, he was promoted to lieutenant over major-crimes detectives.
One notable case Cox referenced was the 2008 Berry homicide, which he took on after only four months in the role. In the grisly case, Jeremiah Berry killed and dismembered his father, Jack Berry.
Though law enforcement has become Cox’s calling and passion, he did not dream of pursuing it as a child. Before moving to Cortez, Cox worked in various fields, including oil and radio. His commitment solidified after a 2008 child sex assault case. After the case concluded, the child was adopted by relatives and expressed gratitude to law enforcement.
“We went to her adoption, and she came up and gave us a hug and said, ‘You saved my life,’” Cox said. “I knew right then, this was 100% what I was meant to do. On the hard days where I question, ‘Do I want to do this anymore?’ I think about her, and I know this is absolutely what I’m meant to do … At the end of the day, when I’m all done with this, I know, at the very least, I helped one person. If that’s the only one, then all of this was worth it, because her life was better after that.”
Running for sheriff wasn’t on Cox’s radar until a few years ago, when former undersheriff and current Cortez Police Chief Vernon Knuckles pushed him to attend leadership training and read leadership books.
Now, leadership may be Cox’s top passion. When asked about books that shaped his style, Cox cited “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod, “Extreme Ownership” by Jocko Willink and “Lincoln on Leadership” by Donald T. Phillips.
Cox, who has been nominated for the FBI National Academy, emphasized servant leadership and passing that passion to others.
“I don’t want robots who show up to work. I want independent, free thinkers that are leadership minded,” Cox said. “That’s the approach I’m going to take if I’m elected sheriff. We will be an agency that develops leaders and trusts them to go out there and do their job.”
Cox outlined priorities to improve the Sheriff’s Office. He plans to repair the strained relationship with the Montezuma County Board of Commissioners through candid discussions and a collaborative five- and 10-year strategic plan.
“I think first it starts with good, honest conversations,” Cox said. “Figure out what didn’t work in the past and how we can improve it going forward. Sit down, have those hard conversations and then figure out a plan moving forward.”
Staffing is also critical, with attrition rates around 110% over the past 10 years, costing millions in training. Only four employees have been with the agency for more than 15 years. Cox also wants improved deputy training.
“We have an amazing staff at the sheriff’s office. They are extremely talented people that put in God’s work every single day, and hanging onto those good deputies is extremely important,” Cox said.
Narcotics trafficking was also identified as a top challenge, as Montezuma County serves as a major hub for drugs, fueling other crimes.
“If we don’t get a handle on that now, we’re never going to get our arms wrapped around it. It has to happen right now,” Cox said.
Cox wants to add two drug-interdiction dogs and K-9 handlers, implement interdiction on U.S. Highway 491 and U.S. Highway 160, and expand partnerships with task forces such as the Southwest Drug Task Force in Durango.
“We need to train our deputies, our road deputies in drug interdiction and then we need to expand our large-scale, long-term investigations,” Cox said. “I want to hit it from two sides.”
He also emphasized more data-driven policing to create targeted patrols based on crime patterns and pledged transparency with the community. He vowed to protect Second Amendment rights.
“People want to be invested because the sheriff’s office is their law enforcement agency. We work for the people and we owe them that transparency,” Cox said.
If he had to sum it up, Cox wants voters to know he aims to make the community safe for families.
“I want to provide the safest environment that we possibly can for people to raise their kids, to have that small-town feel … That’s what’s important to me. How you do that is you establish relationships,” Cox said. “We build back the relationship with the Board of County Commissioners. We work on a strategic plan going forward.”
“Drugs have to be a priority because they’re fueling all of our other crimes, and start tackling, not just distribution-level dealers, but end users,” Cox continued. “My goal is this, if you’re peddling that garbage in our community … I will do my very best with every legal avenue available to put you in jail.”
Cox’s passion for community and public service extends to his family. His wife, Jaime Cox, whom he married in 2016, is an advocate at the Child Advocacy Center in Cortez. His stepson Rylan Duran is a fire captain in San Juan County, and Duran’s wife, Juliana Duran, is a school nurse in Aztec.
His stepson Kadan Sharp is a Cortez police officer, and stepson-in-law Koby Guttridge is a Cortez police sergeant. His stepdaughter Haley Guttridge formerly worked in child protective services.
“I absolutely love this career, and I love this community. I’ve made it my home,” Cox said. “My kids are here. My grandkids are here. I care very deeply about Montezuma County.”
As of this writing, no other candidates have announced bids for sheriff.
