Spotlight #14: Ralph Ogden
Next August will mark Ralph Ogden's 30th year with the Yuma County Sheriff's
Office. As an aerologist with the Marine Corps, Ralph was sent to Yuma in 1966,
and four years later began a distinguished career in law enforcement. He worked
his way through the department or dispatcher, deputy, sergeant, chief deputy,
and was elected sheriff in 1992. The decision to go from the military to law
enforcement was easy: "I picked something I could do I, help people other
than go into something like sale, Law enforcement is a good way to give back
to a community."
That original department would be unrecognizable today. With just 37 staff,
the only training Ralph received was on-the-job Training for his first position
as dispatcher went like this "This is a radio, here are the jail keys, and if
you have a problem with the 100 inmates, just holler." A memorable early
incident took place when Ralph was a sergeant in the Welton substation.
He got a call from the Whispering Sands Bar in Hyder, 65 miles away, where
15 men were engaged in a brawl. As Ralph screeched to a halt in front of
the bar, he jumped out and yelled, "Okay I'm here, the rest of the deputies
are on the way, and you are all going to jail." The bluff worked, as it often
did for Yuma deputies who bad to cover wide open spaces, take risks, and
hope they wouldn't be challenged.
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Law enforcement has grown up since Ralph first joined the department
... from a job with no training or compensatory time to a profession
with great risks, demands, complex legalities, and ample training. Sadly,
the greatest challenge in his career occurred in 1995
when two deputies-good friend, both-were killed in the
line of duty by a third deputy. And his greatest satisfaction? "It occurs
every single day that I come to work, seeing the officers and civilians
working together as a team, and being the leader of that winning team."
Ralph's greatest accomplishment was getting Yuma County's jail district in
place. After numerous presentations, interviews, videos and sound bites,
Ralph and the board convinced Yuma voters to approve a half cent
sales tax by a wide margin. The new jail houses 756, a far cry from his
early dispatcher days with a jail of 35 beds, 100 inmates, and no recreation
or sunlight.
In Ralph's tenure as sheriff, he has served as presidents of AACo, the
Sheriff's and County Attorneys Association, and the Sheriff's Affiliate.
He currently airs on NACo's steering committee on corrections, numerous
subcommittees, and the FBI National Academy Associates. In rare moments
of relaxation, Ralph hunts, fishes, walks, and takes his wife for weekend
getaways to San Diego every month.
AzCAP salutes Yuma County Sheriff Ralph Ogden for his 30 years of public
service to Yuma County and to the profession of law enforcement.
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