Let us pause to celebrate the moment. Rosie Rivera this week became the first woman, and the first Latina, to be sheriff of Utah’s largest county.
Rivera, a 24-year veteran who rose to become chief of the Unified Police Department’s Riverton division, took the next step up when county Democrats chose her to fill the remaining term of former Sheriff Jim Winder, who left to become Moab police chief.
In these acutely challenging times for law enforcement, particularly when it comes to their interactions with people of color, Rivera’s ascent is an instantly visible sign for Utah’s growing Latino population that the people on both sides of the badge are not that different.