Meet Your Sheriff

As Van Wert County Sheriff, I, Thomas M. Riggenbach took office on January 2nd, 2013. Before being elected as Sheriff, I worked in a variety of positions within the Sheriff’s Office. I began my career on the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office Auxiliary as a Special Deputy before being hired full time in 1995 as a Deputy Sheriff

During my time as a Deputy Sheriff in the Enforcement Division with the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office, I was assigned to K-9 Division and was a K-9 handler for seven years. In 1999, I was promoted to the rank of Sergeant, where I worked as a shift Sergeant and supervised the personnel assigned to my shift. In 2005, I was promoted to Chief Deputy of Corrections, where I oversaw the day to day operations and managed the two dozen or more personnel of the Van Wert County Correctional Facility.

I am honored to be Van Wert County’s elected representative for the Office of Sheriff. I am committed to the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office being an agency that provides courteous, common sense, law enforcement services to the citizens of, and visitors to, Van Wert County. The Van Wert County Sheriff’s Office will continually strive to meet today’s challenges in a professional manner with an attitude of service to all of Van Wert County and its residents.