Aiding his command, new Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin has selected local police detective Jim Kingery as his go-to man.

Immediately after taking his oath of office on Tuesday, Jan. 13, Nowlin announced that Kingery had been tapped as the next Montezuma County undersheriff. With nearly 19 years of experience with the Cortez Police Department, Kingery was the top candidate from a pool of 12 applicants for the Montezuma County undersheriff position, Nowlin said. Kingery has served as lieutenant detective with the police department since 2010.

"I admire that Jim is honest, hard-working and has commonsense decision-making skills," said Nowlin.

As undersheriff, Kingery is charged with overseeing daily operations of all divisions.

"He's not a yes man," added Nowlin. "He thinks things through."

Honored to be entrusted with the position, Kingery said he had worked with Nowlin on numerous investigations while at the police department.

"We have a good working relationship," said Kingery. "We trust one another."

Nowlin's demands for undersheriff included state officer certification along with 10 years of law enforcement and an additional four years of command staff experience. Applicants were also subject to criminal and financial background checks, a written decision-making test, a 20-question oral review board by law enforcement administrators and a final interview with Nowlin.

"It was a fair, equal and challenging process," said Nowlin.

Cortez Police Chief Roy Lane described Kingery as a respected, honest and trustworthy officer.

"Jim is just as stand-up as it gets," said Lane. "The county got a good one with his hiring."

Kingery's former police academy roommate, Cortez Police Sgt. Andy Brock, reiterated Lane's endorsement. He said Kingery was the top-performing student during their police training days nearly 20 years ago.

"Everybody in our class wanted to be Jim's partner in exercise scenarios at the academy," said Brock. "He had a perfect score in firearms."

Brock described Kingery as a cautious and focused commander committed to seeing things through to the end.

"Jim is slow to burn," said Brock. "He doesn't lose his composure."

Kingery predicted his greatest challenge assuming the role of undersheriff would be learning the job and how the sheriff's office operates. Trust, he said, would be the greatest attribute he'd draw on from his near two-decade career in law enforcement.

"You have to trust people that work under you," said Kingery. "You have to be able to oversee your staff without micromanaging them."

Kingery said being a native of Cortez would also be beneficial as undersheriff.

"I'm familiar with the people that live here," he added. "That will be a big plus."

tbaker@cortezjournal.com