BOISE, Idaho — There is a change on the streets of Ada County, deputies may soon look a little more country.
“We've allowed them to add a cowboy hat to the uniform, if they like,” said Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford.
Sheriff Clifford said some of his deputies tried the cowboy hat at the Eagle Rodeo. Trying to beat the heat, it was a hit.
“The final straw, no pun intended. The final straw was. I was out in Kuna at an event and the sun was just beating down on me. I was wearing this uniform. I had a detective next to me who's trying to hide under a baseball cap to keep the sun off of him. And I went out and bought a cowboy hat the next day, and I wore it to the Star 4th of July hometown celebration,” Clifford said.
Some deputies debuted the new look at the Western Idaho Fair. They got great feedback on their new look from Idahoans, Clifford said.
There are rules with the hats that deputies must follow. First, they are optional. Deputies still have the option to wear an ACSO baseball-style cap if they want.
Hats can only be worn with the traditional tan uniform. They must be of the white straw variety – and if they have a hat band, it can’t have any logos, symbols, or emblems.
“A classic look to a Western sheriff's office. And I mean, we're a Western sheriff's office and I'm always kind of like that. Look, I'm not a cowboy. In fact, I know very little about cowboy hats,” Clifford said with a laugh.
Sheriff Clifford does know that the hats are not only a cool western look, but they serve a real purpose.
“We've had some deputies here that, you know, we're all at the dermatologist. They're out in the sun quite a bit and they're getting spots frozen off here and there. We've also had a number of people that have gone in, and it's not all related to the job they do here, but they're getting melanomas cut off of them,” he said.
For the Sheriff, the hats are also a personal reminder.
“I had a family member die last year from skin cancer. And that really kind of hit home where it seems like when you talk about skin cancer, all you hear about is, well, I got it frozen off, I got it cut off. And then to have somebody pass away, you realize how serious it is,” Clifford said. “So, I've been trying to stay out of the sun a lot more. And along comes this cowboy hat idea, and it really works great.”
And yes, the Sheriff has his hat ready to roll.
“I've had this one since the day before or just before 4th of July,” he said. “I'm not a cowboy guy, but I got one that I thought looked okay, it fits my head.”
Ada County is not purchasing cowboy hats for deputies, so no tax dollars are being used to outfit deputies with hats. Personal funds are used by deputies who choose to wear one.
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