Ricardo Urena

Assistant Sheriff Ricardo “Rich” Urena was born and raised in the Bay Area. He began his law enforcement career with the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office in 2001. Assistant Sheriff Urena worked as a Patrol Deputy in each of the three Patrol Divisions before becoming a Field Training Officer.  In 2007 he was assigned to the newly created Sheriff’s Office Justice Training Center in Morgan Hill as a Recruit Training Officer.

As a Detective, Assistant Sheriff Urena worked in the Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Task Force while holding a collateral assigned working aboard Sheriff’s Office STAR-1 helicopter as a Tactical Flight Observer. In 2010, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and reassigned to the West Valley Patrol Division as a Detective Sergeant.

 In 2011 he was assigned to Valley Medical Center as the Assistant Director of Protective Services responsible for the operations of the hospital’s Protective Services Department. He was promoted to Lieutenant and returned to the Investigations Division until he was promoted to Captain in 2015.

While holding the rank of Captain, he commanded the Court Security Division responsible for the safety and security of court operations, the West Valley Patrol Division responsible for law enforcement services to the contract cities of Cupertino, Saratoga, Town of Los Altos Hills as well as the unincorporated west valley region, and the Investigations Division.

Assistant Sheriff Urena holds an Associate of Arts in Administration of Justice from Ohlone College, a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership from the University of Oklahoma, and he is currently working towards the completion of a Master of Arts in Leadership.

Assistant Sheriff Urena is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy class #269 and a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, California Peace Officers Association, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy Associates.