Sheriff Cory S. Rink
Biography

Cory S. Rink was elected Garfield County Sheriff in August 2020, and took office on January 4, 2021. Sheriff Rink, a Garfield County native, is married to Ashley Rink and together they have 4 children. The Rinks live on the family farm in rural Garfield County.

Sheriff Rink began his law enforcement career with the Covington Police Department in 2008 and started working for the Garfield County Sheriff's Office in November of 2011. During his career, Sheriff Rink has also worked for the Noble County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff Cory S. Rink is an Advanced CLEET-certified officer as well as a CLEET-certified Defensives Tactics Instructor and has obtained well over 1600 hours of continuing education credits. Training is very important to Sheriff Rink and immediately upon taking office, he created a service schedule that allows for weekly training opportunities for the entire staff. A well-educated and professional staff is one of the best assets the sheriff's office can provide to the community. This training and professionalism will help to create a community-centered office. Community policing - citizens and law enforcement working together - will create safer communities throughout the county. Sheriff Rink wants the citizens of Garfield County to know their Sheriff and his deputies and that this office is dedicated to protecting and serving all who live here.

As Sheriff, Cory S. Rink has declared Garfield County as a Second Amendment Sanctuary county. Sheriff Rink brings honesty, integrity, and professionalism to the office and will continue to uphold the Constitutions of both the United States and the State of Oklahoma.

The Garfield County Sheriff's Office employees 22 deputies, 7 dispatchers and 2 administrative assistants. Garfield County consists of 2 cities and 13 rural municipalities for a total of 1,060 square miles and an approximate population of 61,000.

As of January 1st, 2021, The Garfield County Detention Facility is operated by the Garfield County Criminal Trust Authority. The Sheriff sits on the board of trustees, but no longer controls the day to day operations of the facility.

The Office of Sheriff is the only law enforcement office directly accountable to the people. Oklahoma's first constitution, adopted in July 1907, created the Office of Sheriff as an elected official in each county. The concepts of "county" and "Sheriff" were essentially the same as they had been during the previous 900 years of English legal history. Because of the English heritage of the American colonies, the new United States adopted the English law and legal institutions as its owner.

Oklahoma's constitution has been revised several times through the years, but the constitutional provisions establishing the Office of Sheriff remains the same as it was in 1907, which, in turn, is strikingly similar to the functioning of the Office of Sheriff at the time of Alfred the Great and William the Conqueror. The major difference, of course, is that the Kings of England appointed their Sheriffs. From the earliest times in America, our Sheriffs have been elected by the people to serve as the principal law enforcement officer of each county.

The office of Sheriff is the only law enforcement office directly accountable to the people, the ultimate authority in a democracy. It is an elected position this makes them unique among other law enforcement. With the position of Sheriff comes a tremendous amount of responsibility that many citizens of Oklahoma do not realize. In many cases, they will have to operate their office and the jail on a budget that is not fully funded by the taxes of the county. They will have to supplement their budget by civil service processes, seeking grants for equipment and vehicles. They will have to protect hundreds of square miles with a minimal amount of deputies and patrol vehicles. The Sheriff will have to deal with overcrowded and some cases antiquated jails. The Sheriff must be a professional law enforcement officer with a deep desire to serve those citizens in his county.